Grand River Brewery will open Friday in Brighton with its own line of beers and full menu

BRIGHTON— Festivalgoers got a sample of Brighton's new "farm-to-table" restaurant last weekend, and the whole shebang will open Friday.

Grand River Brewery opened its doors with a limited menu and beers on tap during "A Taste of Brighton." The restaurant, brewhouse, tasting room and entertainment venue at 201 W. Main St. will open for regular business hours Friday, July 19, with a ribbon cutting at 3:45 p.m.

"It was exciting just to be in Brighton with such a large crowd," said COO Bryce Davenport. "I think we were able to meet a lot of people over the span of the two days. Everyone was so welcoming."

Davenport said the full menu will be available beginning Friday.

Based in Jackson, Grand River Brewery specializes in "farm-to-table" meals made from scratch. They source ingredients from Michigan farms, including freshly butchered beef from Noggle Farms in Manchester. Owner Justin Dalenberg also owns Manchester Market, which houses a butchery, bakery and commissary that supply his various restaurant ventures.

"People appreciated the 'farm-to-table' approach and the fact that we do everything ourselves," Davenport said. "We don't rely on others to buy our products from. It's all touched by us. It's all sourced locally. You can taste the difference."

He said some "hot sellers" include their turkey Reuben, pastrami sandwich, and Jägerschnitzel, a pork loin served with house-made spätzle. They serve burgers, steaks and other dishes.

The brewery also has its own line of beers, with a distillery in Jackson, and produces vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, agave spirits and stout-aged bourbon. The business sources wine from several wineries and vineyards in the state.

Davenport said there's brewing equipment in the basement of the Brighton location, but it's not currently being used.

"We just want to focus (on the food and service)," he said. "If we can do that consistently, we’ll talk about maybe brewing beer there."

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The basement, which has additional seating, will offer games and entertainment. They've already installed shuffleboard.

"We're in the process of getting arcade games," Davenport said. "There will be dart boards."

They'll also host live music and events.

Brighton is the fourth location for Grand River Brewery, following expansions in Marshall and Clawson. There are plans to open in Adrian and Trenton in the coming years.

The space on Main Street was previously occupied by Ginopolis', a barbecue smokehouse restaurant, bar and live entertainment venue that closed in 2023 — several months after the business rebranded to Cowgirl's Country Bar and Grill, then reverted back.

— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.