The first time Bill Zolkowski recalls the idea of a beer garden being discussed was in July 2011. Fifteen months later, he and Mark Hodesh announced the grand opening of Bill’s Beer Garden would take place on October 18.
“It’s been a funny rhythm,” Zolkowski says. “It’s been hurry up and get things done, but then wait.”
Zolkowski says the business’s unusual outdoor and seasonal model complicated their application for a liquor license, but now that it’s finally in hand, that awkward momentum has shifted to full steam ahead. The beer garden, which will pop up in the parking lot of Hodesh’s Downtown Home and Garden on Thursday through Sunday evenings, will serve Michigan craft beer and a variety of wines for an abbreviated, six-week season that will run through December 2. “We’ll have heaters and fire pits out there,” says media coordinator Phillis Engelbert, who’ll also be organizing entertainment. “We’ll keep them warm, and hopefully people will be elbow to elbow, having a good time.”
