GRAND HAVEN, MI – After a “not so quiet” opening weekend last Saturday, a husband and wife owned brewery and distillery is preparing for its full opening to the Grand Haven community.

Kurt and Wendy Knoth will host a grand opening event for Off the Chain Brewstillery the weekend of August 24th at 1434 Colfax Ave. in Grand Haven.

The “brewery” is a multifaceted passion project that took almost three years to create. Kurt Knoth has been a hobby brewer for 30 years and only recently learned distilling in courses in Colorado.

He also worked in supply chain and security at Corewell Health – formerly Spectrum Health – for 12 years, but took “early retirement” after becoming burned out from working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, her daughter and son-in-law, Addy and Christian Miller, had ambitions to buy the Loose Spokes bike shop, where Christian had worked since he was 14, and relocate it.

The Knoths began searching for a building that would meet both of their visions and house a bike shop and distillery.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time. We didn’t know how much work it would mean,” said Kurt Knoth.

Off the Chain Brewstillery will be located in the same building as Loose Spokes Bicycle Shop on Grand Haven’s up-and-coming east side.

In the 1960s, the building housed an auto repair shop on the Loose Spokes side and a sign painting shop on the OTC side.

When the Knoths purchased the building two and a half years ago, everything from floor to roof needed replacing. The couple estimated that they invested a total of $1.3 million in purchasing and renovating the property.

“It was pretty run down and had probably been used as a warehouse for 20 years,” Kurt Knoth said, noting that they had to haul 30 dumpsters full of leftover trash, including 25,000 pounds of recycled steel, off the site.

But it’s a labor of love for the couple, and they said they want to join the nearby Unicorn Tavern and Burzurk Brewing Co. in revitalizing Grand Haven’s east side.

“Anyone who knows Grand Haven knows that the other side of the highway gets a lot of attention, so we wanted to give that side some attention,” said Kurt Knoth.

Wendy Knoth added: “The building has been vacant for more than 25 years… We have put a beautiful light on this horrible looking building so that the neighbors are happy.”

The two are already heavily involved in the Grand Haven community. Kurt Knoth sits on the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power, while Wendy sits on the board of the Tri-Cities Historical Museum in the city.

So far, residents seem to be enjoying what OTC has to offer. Knoth said the company’s opening on Saturday was “not so smooth.”

About 500 people showed up between 1pm and 5pm and within two hours the distillery ran out of gin before running out of beer just a few hours later.

“It was really exciting,” Wendy Knoth said. “It was like, ‘Oh my God, this is happening.'”

The company still needs to hire a few more waiters and get its main distillery up and running, Kurt Knoth said. They had been using a smaller facility to produce some spirits, but not enough to keep the inventory full.

The name “Off the Chain” was created by Addy Miller, who also designed the logo. She and her husband came up with the name as a backup in case they couldn’t reuse the name Loose Spokes, but it was eventually reused as the distillery’s name.

The Knoths’ son, Ben, also works in the company’s licensing and regulatory affairs.

Kurt Knoth said their brewmaster was the first non-family member they hired.

“We told him we were going to treat him like family, and we still run it like a family business,” he said. “We want to give our employees that sense of family because we know that when we take care of our customers, our employees will take care of them.”

Wendy Knoth added, “When you work for us, you’re family. We want your ideas. We want your input. If you have a beer recipe you’d like to try, we’ll do it.”

The distillery and bike shop will be connected by an interior hallway and will use the same restrooms. Knoth said they are in the process of obtaining a liquor license for Loose Spokes so customers can bring their drinks into the bike shop as well.

The company also has a wine license and plans to offer non-alcoholic options in addition to wine in the near future.

Wendy Knoth said she hopes to use the space for community activities such as bourbon tastings and classes on brewing, distilling, cocktail mixing and more.

“We’re open to anything,” she said. “There’s a lot of energy here. It’s exciting.”

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