HopCat-Kalamazoo opening is as big as expected

Workers on Thursday were busy putting the finishing touches on HopCat-Kalamazoo, with developers measuring in hours the time until the city’s newest craft brew inspired watering hole opens its doors to the public.

The sound of screws being driven into wood and the din of employees stocking the bar filled the air as Southwest Michigan Second Wave was given access to the bar, located in the historic Depot building at 427 E. Michigan Ave. in the heart of the city’s brewery district. 

A preliminary launch for VIPs was scheduled for Friday evening, before the grand opening on Saturday at 11 a.m. There were 400 people waiting in line when HopCat opened to the general public the next day. 

It was the biggest opening for a new HopCat location since the Detroit location opened in 2014. 

"We’re off to a great start thanks to our employees and the incredible guests who visited us during our first two days," says Chris Knape, vice president of marketing and communications for BarFly Ventures LLC, which owns and operates HopCat.

"With Bell’s, Arcadia and so many other craft brewers, Kalamazoo is at the crossroads of the Midwest craft beer scene," says Knape,  "We have been looking at Kalamazoo for a long time. This location was exactly what we were looking for. We see HopCat-Kalamazoo as a tribute to Michigan craft beer, because this is where it all began." 

Construction on the $2.5 million, 11,400-square-foot development began almost four months ago. It’s the state’s fifth HopCat location, with others in Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing and Grand Rapids. Almost 140 people were hired to work at HopCat-Kalamazoo, Knape said.

With seating for roughly 300, the bar’s interior retains the building’s history as a train depot, with railroad tracks serving as footrests running along the bottom of the bar, and refurbished sliding wooden doors--which used to open to load freight--now serving as a wall.

Reclaimed wood was used as much as possible. The bar top, for instance, is made from wood from an old barn and much of the flooring was saved from the Depot building. Electric guitars donated from Kalamazoo-based Heritage Guitars hang from the walls.

Outside, multi-colored tables and chairs sit on a reclaimed brick patio, with seating for 110 people. A bar fashioned out of an Airstream camping trailer sits on the edge of the patio, next to a fire pit.

A small band shell will serve as a stage for live music, scheduled to kick-off in the spring, Knape says.

Save for a few small, independent businesses, the Depot building, owned by Kalamazoo-based real estate and management firm PlazaCorp, sat mostly vacant for several years. 

Refurbishment and construction were not always easy, Knape says. In certain cases, walls had to be torn down to the studs and sections of flooring had to be removed to level out the building. In the end, it was worth it.

"It was kind of like putting a puzzle together," he says. "But it’s the bones that make this place special. Now, with hundreds of people coming in and out every day, we can breathe a little new life into this area."

HopCat, known for its ever-changing list of beers pouring of 100 taps, will feature only Michigan craft beers this weekend, with a special focus on the Kalamazoo scene, Knape said. Craft beer connoisseurs would do well to join the throngs expected to imbibe during the opening.

"We open big," he says.

Chris Killian has been a writer and journalist in the Kalamazoo area for over 10 years. His work has been published in multiple local publications, including the Kalamazoo Gazette and WMUK. You can find more about Killian, his work, and projects he’s working on by visiting chriskillian.net.