HopCat

Last updated
HopCat
Company type Private
Industry Restaurant
Genre Gastropub
Founded2008
Headquarters
Grand Rapids, Michigan [1]
Number of locations
9 (2020)
Parent BarFly Ventures, LLC [2]
Website hopcat.com

HopCat is a restaurant and bar chain based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, with seventeen locations in eight states. HopCat is best known for having a wide array of beers on tap, with several of their locations offering over 100 different options. [3] [4]

Contents

Founded in 2008 in Grand Rapids by Mark Sellers, the original HopCat in Grand Rapids is a brewpub with its own small brewery, which typically supplies 4-6 house-made beers alongside craft beers from around the country. HopCat opened its second location in East Lansing, Michigan in 2013. [5]

In 2015, BarFly Ventures secured $25 million in capital financing to support its effort to expand HopCat, which will open as many as 30 locations over the next several years. [6] [7]

On June 6, 2020, BarFly Ventures filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Grand Rapids, MI. [8]

Accolades

The Grand Rapids location was recognized as one of the best brewpubs in the United States by RateBeer.com from 2013 to 2015. [9] [10] [11] In 2010, HopCat was rated No. 3 on BeerAdvocate's list of "Best Beer Bars on Planet Earth." [12]

Controversy

On December 15, 2018, Barfly Ventures CEO Mark Gray announced that Hopcat would be renaming its famous “Crack Fries” in order to avoid making light of the drug the name refers to as well as addiction to said drug. [13] The fries were renamed "Cosmik Fries" in reference to Frank Zappa's song "Cosmik Debris". [14]

Locations

Current locations

Former locations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalamazoo, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Kalamazoo is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 261,670 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 96</span> Interstate Highway in Michigan, United States

Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway that runs for approximately 192 miles (309 km) entirely within the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 (US 31) and Business US 31 on the eastern boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon, and the eastern terminus is at I-75 near the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. From Grand Rapids through Lansing to Detroit, the freeway parallels Grand River Avenue, never straying more than a few miles from the decommissioned US 16. The Wayne County section of I-96 is named the Jeffries Freeway from its eastern terminus to the junction with I-275 and M-14. Though maps still refer to the freeway as the Jeffries, the portion within the city of Detroit was renamed by the state legislature as the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway in December 2005 in honor of the late civil rights pioneer. There are four auxiliary Interstates as well as two current and four former business routes associated with I-96.

The Michigan Brewing Company was a brewery operating in Webberville, Michigan. It operated from 1996 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kewpee</span> American fast food chain

Kewpee Hamburgers is the second oldest chain of hamburger fast-food restaurants, founded in 1923 in Flint, Michigan under the name "Kewpee Hotel Hamburgs". Kewpee's current headquarters is located in Lima, Ohio. The chain is named after the Kewpie doll. Kewpee was one of the first to institute curbside service, which later morphed into a drive-in service, and then finally was transformed into drive-thru service. The Lima Kewpee locations have locally raised beef delivered daily to each Kewpee restaurant. The Kewpee Restaurant in Lima, Ohio is considered a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arcadia Brewing Company</span> Defunct brewery in Michigan, U.S.

The Arcadia Brewing Company was a brewery with facilities in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, in operation from 1996 to 2019. At the time it ceased operations due to financing problems, it was one of Michigan's 25 largest craft breweries and distributed to eight states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Brothers Brewing</span> Brewery in Warrenville, Illinois

Two Brothers Brewing Company is an independently owned Illinois-based microbrewery founded by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel in 1996. The brothers brought their knowledge of different brewing styles to the Chicago craft brew market after living in Europe and experiencing the variety of beers available there. Jim and Jason started the business using bulk milk tanks converted into fermenters that were donated to them by their grandfather who was a retired dairy farmer. Two Brothers Brewing has now been in business for over 20 years and has opened multiple locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as one in Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celebration Cinema</span>

Celebration Cinema is a movie theater chain owned and operated by Studio C with headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Its theaters serve the cities and surrounding areas of Grand Rapids, Lansing, Muskegon, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Portage/Kalamazoo, and Mount Pleasant. An average of 5.5 million customers see movies annually through Studio C's Celebration Cinemas locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuler Books & Music</span> Bookstore

Schuler Books is an independent bookseller with four locations across the U.S. state of Michigan. Along with new and used books, Schuler stores feature an extensive gift section, magazines, print on demand services, event spaces, and a café.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halo Burger</span> Fast food chain based in Flint, Michigan, United States

Halo Burger, formerly known by its full name Bill Thomas' Halo Burger, is an American fast-food restaurant chain based in Genesee County, Michigan. Begun in 1923 as the original Kewpee location and separating from the Kewpee chain in 1967 with two locations, the chain has maintained a number of locations in and around Genesee County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Michigan</span> Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

The cuisine of Michigan is part of the broader regional cuisine of the Midwestern United States. It is reflective of the diverse food history of settlement and immigration in the state, and draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Native North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy's Pizza</span> Independent pizza restaurant chain based in Detroit

Buddy's Pizza is an independent pizza restaurant chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1946, the company has an annual revenue of US $30 million. The chain's 23 restaurants have over 700 employees. Buddy's has been called one of the five best pizzerias in the United States by the Food Network. It has a bocce ball league that plays every Saturday morning at its original Conant Street location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Rapids, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,893 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the central city of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,087,592 and a combined statistical area population of 1,383,918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short's Brewing Company</span>

Short's Brewing Company is a brewpub and microbrewery in Bellaire, Michigan, United States. Registered in 2002, the company opened its pub in 2004. In 2008, a production facility in Elk Rapids, Michigan was purchased and renovated to accommodate larger scale batches. In July 2017, Short's sold 19.9% of the company to Lagunitas Brewing Company, which is owned by Heineken International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Founders Brewing Company</span> Michigan-based craft-style beer brewer

Canal Street Brewing Co., LLC, doing business as Founders Brewing Company, is a brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, known for producing several highly rated and award-winning craft-style ales, including KBS, Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard, and Founders Porter. Since its founding as a craft brewery in the mid-1990s, it has grown to become the 15th largest brewery in the United States, and a prominent member of the West Michigan brewing industry. It is now majority-owned by Mahou San Miguel of Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragonmead</span>

Dragonmead is a U.S. microbrewery, meadery and brewpub founded by Earl Scherbarth, Larry Channell, and Bill Wrobel in January 1997. The small brewery produces many varieties of beer, wine, and mead, and has received awards including gold medals at the World Beer Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keweenaw Brewing Company</span> Craft brewery in Michigan

The Keweenaw Brewing Company (KBC) is a craft brewer with a taproom in Houghton and a production facility in nearby South Range, Michigan. It is named for the Keweenaw Peninsula, which projects out to the north of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Michigan</span> Protests in Michigan caused by the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of protests that took place in Michigan in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

References

  1. ↑ Robenault, Steve Hop Cat Michigan Journal. March 25, 2016
  2. 1 2 "HopCat Detroit Opening to Include World-Record Tap Takeover". Detroit Free Press . August 20, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Allen, Robert (December 30, 2015). "Uber: Detroit's Top 10 Nightlife Rides in 2015". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  4. ↑ White, Laurel (July 10, 2015). "'Craft Beer Chain' HopCat to Open Saturday off State Street". The Capital Times. Madison, WI. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ Ellison, Garret (January 8, 2013). "Five Years and $13.5 Million in Sales Later, HopCat Has Become a 'Well Respected' Grand Rapids Brand". MLive. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ Walsh, Dustin (September 2, 2015). "HopCat Owners Secure $25 Million to Fund Expansion". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ Sidorowicz, Josh (September 2015). "'It's a Big Deal,' 30 New HopCat Bars to Open up Across Midwest". Grand Rapids, MI: WXMI-TV . Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ "'HopCat restaurant parent company files for bankruptcy protection'".
  9. ↑ "top retailers by country - ratebeer best 2013". www.ratebeer.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  10. ↑ "The Best Beers in the World 2013". www.ratebeer.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  11. ↑ "top retailers by country - ratebeer best for the year 2015". www.ratebeer.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  12. ↑ "Magazine toasts Founders Brewer, HopCat as best in the nation". MLive.com. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  13. ↑ "A word about our fries | HopCat". Archived from the original on 2018-12-17.
  14. ↑ "Cosmik Fries | HopCat".
  15. ↑ Offman, Alysa (February 10, 2015). "HopCat Ann Arbor to Open on Valentine's Day". Detroit Metro Times . Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  16. ↑ Howell, Brandon (August 8, 2013). "HopCat East Lansing to Open with Attempted World-Record Tap Takeover of 100 Short's Beers". MLive. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  17. ↑ Bondie, Cassandra (April 27, 2019). "HopCat to open its doors in downtown Holland". Holland Sentinel . Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  18. ↑ Benbow, Dana (June 12, 2014). "130 Hoosier Beers on Tap for HopCat Opening". Indianapolis Star . Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ "HopCat is coming to downtown Kalamazoo". MLive.com. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  20. ↑ Olberding, Matt (October 29, 2015). "Chain Restaurant, Craft Beer Bar Coming to Haymarket". Lincoln Journal Star . Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Lincoln | HopCat". hopcat.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  22. ↑ Baetens, Melody (October 25, 2022). "HopCat returns to downtown Royal Oak this winter, now hiring". Detroit News . Detroit, MI. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Kansas City | HopCat". hopcat.com. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  24. ↑ iPatton, Janet (October 22, 2015). "LexGo Eat: HopCat Opens Saturday; BrewGrass Trail Tavern Opens Monday". Lexington Herald-Leader . Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  25. ↑ "HopCat craft beer bar to open in Highlands". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  26. ↑ Derby, Samara Kalk (July 2, 2015). "Restaurant News: HopCat Giving Away Fries to Those who Take First Crack". Wisconsin State Journal . Madison, WI. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Craft beer galore: HopCat coming to downtown Minneapolis - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2017-03-07.
  28. ↑ "The Sunshine State is getting their own HopCat in late 2017 | Bites".
  29. ↑ Baetens, Melody (September 23, 2016). "HopCat in Royal Oak to open in early 2017". Detroit News . Detroit, MI. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Hopcat Permanently Closes Royal Oak Restaurant - Eater Detroit". 27 May 2020.
  31. ↑ "HopCat to open a St. Louis location - mlive.com". 26 April 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.