Century Old Building Home to Fetch Brewing

You can examine all the mechanicals of a working bank safe at Fetch Brewing in Whitehall, and then you can grab a seat inside and enjoy a hand crafted beer. (Amy Sherman)

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Century old building home to Fetch Brewing

Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail

Nestled between the water and the busy main street in downtown Whitehall, Michigan, lies a little brewery that might not have its own long history, but occupies a building with one. Fetch Brewing offers handcrafted beers in a lovely setting, including the option to drink directly in a former bank vault. “Whitehall and Montague are old logging towns,” Fetch Brewing co-owner Jen Hain explained. The towns, founded in Muskegon County in the mid-1800s, are right near the shores of Lake Michigan, and are divided by White Lake, which is actually the mouth of the White River. The building that Fetch occupies was built in 1912, and lies right on Colby Street, the main drive through town. It was originally built as the State Bank, in response to the booming lumber business in the area. Located on a prominent corner “no expense was spared. It was the point of pride for the town,” according to articles Jen found. The original articles of incorporation include many of the family names that you can still find around town on both buildings and street names. After the original bank moved to a new spot kitty-corner from the original location in 1965, the building was empty for a few years. Then a local gentleman purchased it and renovated it into a private residence, living in an apartment in the back section of upstairs and while he ran an antique store down below. You can still see the red cedar bolts jutting out from the brick walls, which used to help support his catwalk that ran around the upper level of the building. “We’ve heard from people in town that he had the best parties in this building,” Jen said. There was even a classic 1970s shag carpeted bar in the apartment that Jen has seen pictures of. Unfortunately, that sexy little gem was gone by the time Fetch moved in. After he moved out in the mid-80s, the building sat empty again. Fetch Brewing brewer and co-owner Dan Hain, a Whitehall native, was always sad to see such an iconic part of this town’s history all boarded up. Another purchaser came in and gutted the building and added some outdoor decor. Then, Chuck and Luann Schwartz purchased it, with plans to develop the space into a brewery, but realized pretty quickly that logistically, with full time jobs in Chicago, this wasn’t going to be possible. They decided to sit on the building until the right owners came along. The Hains had a dream of opening a brewery somewhere in West Michigan, as Dan was looking to take his homebrewing passion to the professional level. They knew they wanted a warm and welcoming spot that felt open and airy. “The first question we asked ourselves as we were looking was would a woman feel safe coming here alone at night?” Jen explained. “If the answer was no, the spot was off the table.” Ironically, Jen’s career had been in banking, while Dan had worked for a chemical company. Through a serendipitous dinner party at friends Sherry and Terry Simon’s house, a magical connection was made. Sherry was the real estate listing on the building at 100 W. Colby, and knew the couple was looking. “We had already looked through the windows, and knew the building was out of our price range,” Jen said. “She told us to meet her in the morning, and to bring our business plan, and she would have the owners there.” “So, they met with us, and they loved our plan that we wanted to put a brewery in,” Jen continued. “That was their plan too.” The owners had been approached by a variety of potential buyers, including a computer store, and they passed on those

MI Brew Trail |Winter 2022 Volume 5 | Winter 2022

offers. “We told them, here’s the thing, we can’t afford it,” Jen said. “The stars aligned,” Jen explained. The owners had already talked to Sherry about changing the offering to a land contract, and forgoing a down payment in exchange for a share in the future company. “We were like OK,” said Jen. Part of the appeal of selling to the Hains was their complete naivety as to what lay before them in terms of renovations. “The realtor told us that we were the only ones when she showed the building who didn’t say ‘oh, hell no, I wouldn’t touch this with a ten-foot pole’ after touring it,” Jen said. “It was usually shown to people who had done this before, or who knew what they were talking about. We walked in and said it’s perfect, we love it,” Jen said laughing. “We were so hopelessly ignorant.” The couple purchased the building in 2011. To add to the fun of buying a building and opening a brewery, the couple, who already had a 2-year-old, found out they were pregnant — with twins. Surprisingly, it was the catalyst for them to take the leap. “I told Dan, well, I need another crib, a minivan and we are opening the brewery,” she said. “He looked at me and said WHAT DID YOU SAY?” “I figured all of our plans had just gone to s**t,” Jen said, laughing. “We might as well just go all in.” It took the Hains about three years to complete their renovations and open Fetch. “Nothing in the building was up to code, since it was all 1912 stuff,” Jen explained. She demonstrated some of the problems to me, showing me how big people’s feet used to be and why all the stairs were super tiny, and how tall people used to be to show why all the doorways were so short. “And no ADA, that wasn’t even a thing,” she said. “We had to do everything from scratch, and learn as we went,” she said. The couple had to add heat, electrical and plumbing. Artist friends helped them bring together a vision for the space. They removed many of the original, rough See century old on 28

Volume 5 | Winter 2022

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