This Oxford restaurant was voted as the Best Brewpub in Metro Detroit!

Located in the heart of downtown Oxford is a family-friendly brewery that doesn't play around when it comes to their food or beers.  The Homegrown Brewing Company is in a 2-story brick building with a large patio out back, and it all started with a love of beer. 

"My son started home brewing, and he ended up moving over to New Zealand, and when he did he asked if he could leave his brewing equipment with me. I said, 'only if you teach me how to use it,'" explained Homegrown owner, John Powers.

John Powers and his wife Marie both were working for GM at the time and were looking to retire. 

"I needed something to keep me busy, and my wife said I had to have something to keep me busy, so it just blossomed from there," said John. 

Getting the brewery up and running was a whole family effort. Marie led the way with the food, wanting it to be made from scratch using local ingredients and changing things up seasonally. She found a partner in Chef Adam DeManaco. He is expert at crafting food to match with the beers and infusing the beers into his recipes. This is not your average bar food. Dishes include beer-infused sausage with an herbed spaetzle and carrot puree, as well as Asian BBQ chicken wings with pickled pineapple and nuts. They also offer special beer pairing dinners where you can indulge in multiple courses that are perfectly paired with the beer.

Marie and her son Jeff also worked together on the layout of the restaurant. Jeff did a lot of the artistic work in the bar and developed the branding while Marie did a lot of the interior design. They added homey touches like making their bar out of old doors from the family farmhouse.

Joe Powers, the eldest son who got John into home-brewing, is now the head brewer of the facility and has led them to win a couple of awards for their brews. His wife manages media relations, while his sister heads up their social media.   

Being built by a family, they wanted to keep the place very family oriented.  Making sure families feel comfortable and welcomed here was a top priority, so they added a sandbox to their patio and brought in plenty of toys for the kids to play with. 

This passion project has become a gathering space the community loves, as evidenced by them being named "Best Brewpub" in the 2019 Vote 4 the Best competition.  

Homegrown Brewing Company is located at 28 N. Washington St. in Oxford, Michigan. 

 

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