Pop-Up No More: Always Brewing is Renovated and Ready

Successfully making the leap from pop-up to permanency is no small feat, but Always Brewing Detroit is on the home stretch. The coffee shop can be found on Grand River Avenue in Grandmont-Rosedale, where the neighborhood's notoriously friendly residents volunteered everything from advice to furniture during the shop's initial run last November. Since officially leasing the storefront in February, founder Amanda Brewington has been working hard to return the favor.
The storefront needed a major updating. Icky carpeting was torn out, walls repainted, and drop ceiling replaced with food-safe panels mimicking a tin ceiling. While Amanda expected renovations to be done within a couple months, formidable tasks like breaking up the concrete floor and laying down plumbing can't be rushed.

"There's what you think you know, then there's reality," said Amanda. "Things you're told will take one week usually take three."

But the hard stuff is done now. Now that the front counter is up and running, new flooring installed, and city inspections passed, all that's left to do is install a new exterior sign and build the stage that'll host open mic nights and live music. The grand opening is scheduled for July 19, and Amanda is excited to officially open the doors once again. "The neighborhood has been super supportive." she told us. "It was a journey."