DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit’s first Black-owned brewery will be opening this weekend. It is called Roar Brewing Company.
“We love the Lions, we love the Tigers and then we know the Pistons with the engine roar, so we’re like what are these things that can kind of come together, and that's why we chose roar. When Hockeytown, when the Red Wings score, the whole crowd roars, so we're like that could be really fun and we wanted to roar with pride,” said Evan Fay, owner of Roar Brewing Co., which opens Sunday.
The U.S. Air Force veteran also owns Cafe Noir and the Chloe Monroe Galleries on John R. Street in Detroit.
“I found a love for craft beer when I was in the military traveling. In Alaska, same thing. Even when I traveled to different locations, I would go to the brewery, I would go to the cafe and the brewery, so I opened a cafe and a brewery,” Fay said.
Fay says Roar Brewing will be the first Black-owned brewery in the city of Detroit.
“We contacted some historians at Wayne State and then talked to the National Black Brewers Association,” he said. “Detroit has a really proud, long history, to make sure that was something we could say but yeah, there hasn’t been a brick-and-mortar Black-owned brewery here in the city.
Roar Brewing will be taking the place of Nain Rouge Brewery, which sits on Selden Street.
“There’s a lot of cool bars and restaurants that are right here that are not too far within walking distance, so it’s really becoming like a social hub,” Fay said.
“There are a couple of breweries in Detroit, what makes Roar different from them?” 7 News Detroit reporter Tiarra Braddock asked.
“We want to be accessible. We want to do tours, so come and get you some samples. If you want to learn about the brewing space and craft, we want to do that too and help provide that information,” Fay said.
After Sunday’s soft opening, Fay and his team will continue transforming Nain Rouge Brewing into Roar Brewing and there will be a grand opening in the summer.
