Arctic Circle an inviting place to drink a cold one Jon Becker MIBrew Trail Two Metro Detroit guys are nearing completion of a microbrewery that is only about 10 miles away from where they became fast friends in high school. Devin Sills and Eric Lehman Jr., both 32, are putting the finishing touches on Arctic Circle Brewing Company, the taproom and brewery they are opening in Chesterfield Township. “We hope to be open in 6-8 weeks,” Lehman Jr. said, a target date that would mean the brewery would be up and running sometime around mid to late May. “It’s taking longer because of COVID. We have some HVAC stuff to do but we’re getting closer.” The name of the business stems from Sills’ and Lehman Jr.’s high school days at Macomb Dakota High School. Their circle of friends used to hang out in the basement of Lehman’s parents’ home. It was so chilly it could have been mistaken for a meat locker. “We used to call it the Arctic Circle,” Lehman said. “People used to come over in the summertime with sweatshirts on.” The two longtime friends and now business partners signed a lease near their old stomping grounds in November of 2019. A few months later, the world was rocked by COVID-19. Yet, with the lease signed and their dreams too powerful to ignore, Sills and Lehman were not about to bail. Their decision to forge ahead was further solidified when Lehman noticed a new, rather peculiar sight while driving around St. Clair Shores, where he lives.
“In January and February, with no indoor seating, I’m seeing people outside at breweries drinking beer in 20-degree weather with no food. I thought to myself, I think this industry is going to be OK. We never thought we were not going to do this. It’s always been our path.” The two began home brewing in 2015. Lehman recalls it was NCAA Selection Sunday for the NCAA Div. 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament. They purchased all the home brewing equipment and gave it a whirl. The result was quite satisfactory. “That first batch turned out so well, we thought maybe we can do this,” he said. “As Deven likes to say, once we brewed that first batch… We’re both from this area and saw a lack of breweries in our neighborhood. This is a heavily populated area and the nearest one is close to 10 miles away.”
Eric Lehman Jr. (left) and Devin Sills are all smiles in their nearly-completed tap room of Arctic Circle Brewing Company. The two high school buddies began their craft beer journey home brewing and are now poised to become what is believed to be the Metro Detroit area’s only black-majority owned brewery.
According to Lehman, who is white, and Sills, who is Black, Arctic Circle will become the first majority-owned black brewery in the Metro Detroit area.
He’s the head brew master. They say don’t mix business with pleasure, but we’ve been friends for so long that we are confident this partnership will work.”
“Pretty crazy,“ Lehman said, “when you consider downtown Detroit and the fact that Michigan has over 400 breweries. “Devin sees this as a good challenge and a way to showcase a minority-owned brewery. “It’s a source of pride to him and it means a lot to me as well. Devin is family.”
The 3,500-square-foot brewery and taproom can probably be described as medium-sized. They hope to regularly offer eight to 10 beers on tap. Coffee stouts (Lehman’s personal favorite “although I don’t drink coffee”), fruited sours and IPA’s will serve as their mainstay selections of a rotating craft beer board Sills and Lehman plan to keep innovative and fresh. A unique way to present old-style beer is one way they put it.
Lehman feels the two bring a nice blend of skills to the table to make this venture work. “I’m the business guy, that’s what I studied in college,” he said. “I always wanted to get into business. I handle the marketing and the behind-the-scenes operational stuff that Devin doesn’t care for.
22 | www.MiBrewTrail.com
They toyed with the idea of opening a kitchen but decided to leave that to the experts. Besides, their business is going to be located in a strip mall, on the northwest cor-
ner of 23 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue. Patrons don’t even have to leave the mall area for a bite, as Buffalo Wild Wings, Tropical Smoothie, Applebee’s, Happy Pizza and Little Caesars are among the neighboring restaurants. “Both of us like to cook but we don’t know anything about running a kitchen,” Lehman said. “We don’t want people to come to our place and not return because the food is bad.” Arctic Circle will, however, work with local restaurants to bring “pop-up” kitchens on site. “The restaurants are happy to see us here,” said Lehman. “We’re going to bring in more foot traffic and they’ve even offered to deliver food to our customers. With so many restaurants right here, it
didn’t make sense to do food.” At 32 years of age, the entrepreneurs are opening a business that they envision becoming more than just a place known for its eclectic taste in beer. They plan to be around for a long time, sharing their mutual love of craft beer in a community-centric atmosphere. “Beer is one portion of it (our business plan), but once we’re able to do so, our goal is to pack this place and as we continue to build create a community feel, then bring that outside of the brewery and help other members of the community,” Lehman said. “Devin and I obviously feel blessed to be in the position we’re in and once we get up and running we want to pass that forward to others. That’s a big focus for us.”
MI Brew Trail | Spring 2021
