Within 24 hours this week, two Oakland County breweries announced they have been facing major struggles — resulting in the forthcoming closure of one and the sale of the other.
Cadillac Straits Brewing Co. in Madison Heights will permanently close July 18, citing “market conditions,” while Farmington Brewing Co. is actively looking for a buyer.
Jason Schlaff, owner of Farmington Brewing, said Wednesday morning he had already received several inquiries since announcing in a June 23 Facebook post that he was looking for a successor due to the physical toll the job had taken on him.
“Over twelve years of slinging 50-pound grain bags, moving 165-pound half-barrel kegs, and handling the intense manual labor of daily production has caught up with me,” Schlaff said.
But while Farmington Brewing Co. continues to be lucrative in its downtown location at 33336 Grand River Ave., he acknowledged the challenges facing Cadillac Straits over at 27651 John R Road in Madison Heights, including a changing demographic and astronomically rising costs.
These factors, he said, are ones he and breweries everywhere are also contending with as more breweries have closed than opened the last two years across the nation.
The issues, Schlaff said, have resulted in “a bloodbath for breweries in the Detroit area.”
Cadillac Straits will join the list of casualties on July 18, its seventh anniversary, when it closes both its brewery and supply house, which offers equipment for home brewers.
“It’s been a good community, but the market is tough,” Gordie Davignon, co-owner of Cadillac Straits with Gary Marshall, said.
He said craft beer and home brew sales are down across the country and attributed those decreases to “generational and cultural differences.”
Fewer drinkers, higher costs
“Younger folks are doing other hobbies and not drinking alcohol, and the older generations are aging out of the hobby and out of drinking for health reasons and whatnot,” he said. Younger people don’t drink as much, and the pipeline is dry.”
Davignon also explained that the “cost of everything is skyrocketing,” including raw ingredients, cleaning chemicals, and more.
The former electrical engineer noted that he and software developer Marshall, who met at a home brewing conference, made their hobby into a business and opened Cadillac Straits just seven months before the pandemic hit.
“You gotta plan for every eventuality and then there is that,” he laughed.
Still, they had a good run and a lot of fun, Davignon said, expressing his appreciation for his staff of about 10 and his faithful customers, who he invites in to enjoy any of their final brews, including Madisonbrau, a classic Märzen lager traditionally served at Oktoberfest.
What’s next
He is unsure what is next for him, other than he needs to find a job in a tough market, and that he will continue to home brew, including his family’s favorites, Santa’s Folly and Duncan’s Irish Stout.
Over at Farmington Brewing,, Schlaff plans to carry on as normal with his staff of about 10 until he turns the keys over to someone new.
“My goal is to give it over to someone who will take care of it,” he said. “My staff is wonderful, they care so much about this community… All I can say is thank you to everyone who did this, it wasn’t me. I just provided venue and a vibe and hopefully good brews.”
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Amid brewery ‘bloodbath,’ one closes, one for sale in Oakland County
Reporting by Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com / Detroit Free Press
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By Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com | USA TODAY Network
