To put it mildly, it’s kind of been a tough year for restaurants. So if a pandemic takes away your ability to serve people in your restaurant, and it takes away the livelihoods of fellow restaurant workers, what do you do? If you are Batch Brewing Company in Detroit you erect an outdoor dining hall, invite other restaurants to hold pop-ups in it, and then host a party where everyone can pay what they can, and end up with thousands of dollars to give away to hospitality workers in need.
It sounds crazy, but it’s all true. Batch Brewing is trying to do good things, one beer, one tap, and one plate of food at a time. The brewery and its charitable arm, Feelgood Tap, are about to give away almost $50,000 to hospitality workers who live in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.
“Have I been surprised?” said Stephen Roginson, owner of Batch Brewing. “Flabbergasted. It’s clear consumers are aware of the problem. An entire sector of our economy is unable to work at capacity, and people are spending away their life’s savings, on the precipice of eviction, all in the middle of a pandemic. People want to help. They are helping.”
So is Batch Brewing Company.
Batch Brewing was nominated for our Love Letters to Michigan restaurants initiative. We asked readers for their favorite locally-owned places that are consistently generous with their food, their time, their money or their talents. The places that always step up to donate, the spots that are always first to offer to help a charity or a cause, the restaurants that quietly make sure that someone hungry gets a welcome meal. They might have delicious, mouth-watering food and beer, too, but this isn’t a search for the best pizza or chicken wings. It’s a search for those restaurants whose hearts are bigger than most.
Pigs roasting for a special 'pay what you can' lunch at Batch Brewing Company in Detroit.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.
We’ve been fans of Batch for a while now, ever since we named them one of Michigan’s Best New Breweries back in 2016. The brewery, located in the Corktown neighborhood in Detroit, won the Hatch Detroit contest in 2013, receiving a $50,000 grant to open a brick and mortar business in the city of Detroit. It took a minute to get everything together, but Batch finally opened their doors in February 2015.
Shortly after opening, the brewery started The Feelgood Tap. This charitable endeavor encourages bars and restaurants to name a monthly rotating tap, raise the price of that beer by $1, and then donate that money to Feelgood Tap. The organization then distributes the contributions to local charities doing good work. Originally only available on tap at Batch, the owners have now expanded this feel good program to breweries and bars across Michigan.
In light of the current situation, the Feelgood Tap has had to pivot, just like everyone else during these trying times. The organization has decided that getting money directly into the hands of impacted service workers in the area is priority number one right now. And what started as an idea of Roginson’s back in the spring to “just cook a meal for our friends who could use one” has kind of blossomed into something pretty amazing.
“The idea started early on in March,” Roginson explained. “Frankly, it was a problem looking for a solution. The supply chain for meat processors was a disaster, and there were stories of pigs being euthanized and buried because farmers couldn’t get them to market. Heartbreaking on so many levels. So I called Rece Hogerheide from Felony Provisions, since I knew he had relationships with some farmers. Maybe we could cook and give away some of these pigs instead of all that waste.”
The logistics of this huge problem proved to be too much for them to handle, but the idea of feeding workers in need stuck.
“With this recent shutdown for indoor dining, there was another layoff of restaurant workers, but no federal financial support,” Roginson said. “So I revisited the idea with Rece and Tim Idzikowski from Detroit BBQ Company, let’s just cook a meal for our friends that could use one. It accidentally turned into a fundraiser. Pay What You Can was supposed to pay for our ingredients so we wouldn’t have to shoulder the entire cost. Instead, we raised over $6,000, which wasn’t our plan.”
Batch Brewing has now hosted a few of these special events, welcoming anyone who could use a hot meal to come and join them outside in the newly constructed “Fauci Fieldhouse” that is located in the parking lot right next to the brewery. Roginson expected hospitality workers to show up for some food, and what happened was that a lot of other people showed up, wanting to donate money to the cause. They have another Pay What You Can event planned for Saturday, Dec. 12, from noon to 9 p.m. They’ll be serving up some smoked brisket, and raising even more money to give away.
The outpouring of generosity created a bit of a pickle when it came to getting the money into the right hands.
“Because we raised so much money, we had to figure out how to give it away,” Roginson said. “But $6,000 isn’t THAT much money, in the grand scheme. So I called Ryan Behringer, the Treasurer of the Feelgod Tap.” The organization had been saving up some money to eventually hire an executive director. “We decided that money we’d been saving makes more sense in the hands of our colleagues, so we’re taking that $6,000, combining it with $26,000 from the Feelgood Tap, ongoing fundraising via PayPal on feelgoodtap.org and one more Pay What You Can this Saturday, and we might have around $50k or so.” Anyone can donate to the fund, whether you can make it to Detroit for a meal or not.
The organization is currently taking applications online. “We decided to focus on our backyard, helping individuals within the borders of Detroit,” Roginson said. In order to qualify, you must live in Detroit, Hamtramck or Highland Park. You’ll also need to let them know the last place you worked. They are hoping to give out about $200 per household, will be using PayPal to distribute the funds, and are keeping the entire process transparent.
Roginson brushed off the idea that $50,000 is a lot of money. And it’s not, when you look at the depth and scope of the problems facing our Michigan restaurants.
“This is a Band-Aid,” Roginson said. “This is not significant. But it’s something. We’re just trying to do something.”
The Fauci Fieldhouse outside of Batch Brewing in Detroit. The brewery got a bit creative with their "walls" moving shipping containers around the sides to create a bit of a wind block for their guests.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.
If you go:
Batch Brewing Company
1400 Porter St, Detroit, MI 48216
https://www.batchbrewingcompany.com/
Pay What You Can-Saturday December 12, Noon to 9pm at the brewery
If you’d like to donate to the Feelgood Tap fund, please head right here.
If you are a hospitality worker and live in Detroit, Hazel Park or Hamtramck, and need assistance now, please fill out the form here.
For more information on the Village Hand Pies Popup happening December 9, go here.
Get more information on the Chartreuse Popup on December 10 at Batch Brewing here.
Batch Brewing owner Stephen Roginson enjoys a beer outside by the smoker.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.
More love letters to Michigan restaurants:
Free groceries, meals to those in need from Detroit Street Filling Station in Detroit
How 3 Bay City restaurants are leaning on each other, helping their community
The Win Tavern is known for its burgers, but loved because it takes care of those in need
Tell us what you love about your favorite Michigan restaurant
Saddleback BBQ delivers Thanksgiving meals to those in need
How Holland’s Big Lake Brewing is giving back one beer at a time
Have a restaurant you would like to nominate for a love letter? Email us!
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