Classic TV fans may well recall Fred MacMurray’s trio of offspring he called “My Three Sons,” but long time South Haven businessman and entrepreneur Ray VanDerZee looks forward to sitting down with you in the not too distant future over a craft beer and a burger to showcase his three daughters and their forthcoming Three Blondes Brewing Company making plans to burst onto the craft brewing trail in his lakeshore community.
VanDerZee’s three adult daughters, all blonde, and their husbands have been researching the craft beer industry in great detail for some time now, traveling as far away as Seattle, Washington for insights. While in Seattle they connected with Fremont Brewing who just 6 or 7 years ago were excited about a $500 sales day and now sport a vending contract with Delta Airlines as a multi-million dollar brewing company.
Ray says that his daughters, Amanda Johnson, Carrie Troyer and Megan Zernicke, have established a substantial business plan with 3-year and 10-year projections and beyond for a 15-barrel brewing system with an opening capacity of up to 10,000 barrels, advancing into a regional distribution system offering canned craft beers for people headed to the waterfront for boating, picnicking and more. Successful acquisition of a microbrewery license would afford them the opportunity to brew up to 60,000 barrels per year.
Original plans were to start a bit smaller, however experts that were consulted foretold much greater success based on the family’s marketing and sales successes in business over the years because they would likely outgrow the capacity in short order.
Ray says his daughters will add on 6,000 square feet to his VanDerZee Motorplex at 1875 Phoenix Street on the east side of South Haven for their destination microbrewery and restaurant, and they plan to hire about 20 employees in the beginning, but foresee taking that to as many as 32 full timers if the business plan plays out and they enjoy the potential success they anticipate.
The new brewers made their plans public Monday night in seeking city approval from South Haven City Hall. VanDerZee says that the city has been working with the team for several months now in preparing for the approvals. The microbrewery also is processing state licensure from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
Three Blondes Brewing will feature a rotating offering of some 8 to 12 beers on tap at a time, will be open seven days a week, and would feature locally sourced foods as often as possible, resulting in an ever-evolving menu changing seasonally. A second floor, private seating area will be furnished with chairs and tables re-purposed from the former L.C. Mohr High School Library. There will also be outdoor seating, including a fire pit so it can be used year-round, as well as a game area for families.
While at the outset the daughters and sons-in-law of Ray & Linda VanDerZee will not be actively engaged in the “in the house” operations of the microbrewery, all are hard-core craft beer aficionados who know only too well how strong that business is surging in Michigan and across the nation, and they saw South Haven as a void in the craft brew trail between a heavy concentration in Berrien County and further north into Paw Paw, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, and wanted to change that picture.
Ray says he would love nothing more than to see the girls be ready to roll by late spring or early summer, but timing will heavily depend on construction and licensing going forward. Stay tuned.
