DETROIT – Founders Brewing Co. announced that its Detroit taproom will reopen this week after it closed in the midst of a racial discrimination lawsuit against the brewery.
The brewery will reopen to the public on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.
When the taproom does reopen, Founders leaders said the profits from the next three years will be donated to charities and community organizations.
“After three months of progress behind-the-scenes, now is the best time to honor our commitments in Detroit and reopen the Detroit taproom,” said company Co-Founder and CEO Mike Stevens. “While our intentions were good when we first launched the taproom in 2017, we need to make more efforts to connect in meaningful ways with the City of Detroit. We’re going to do this right and we look forward to sharing the journey with our fans, community partners and business partners.”
Emily Faulkner will step into the role of Detroit taproom General Manager. The company also plans to create a diversity and inclusion strategy.
Founders faced backlash after a former employee filed the lawsuit against the Michigan-based brewery. A settlement between the brewery and employee was reached in late 2019.
MORE: Founders, employee reach settlement in racial discrimination lawsuit
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Founders opened the Detroit taproom, at 456 Charlotte Street, just north of the historic Masonic Temple, in 2017. The company estimates a $3.1 million economic impact in Detroit in just two years from employee wages alone, which it expects to significantly increase, between employment and donated profits, starting in 2020.
Founders is based out of Grand Rapids.