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Michigan’s largest brewery is reeling from a perfect storm of events, which started with a racial discrimination lawsuit by a black former employee, Tracy Evans, and escalated when a leaked transcript added fuel to an already simmering fire.
In a transcript of a deposition, which leaked to the Detroit Metro Times, Founders Brewing’s Detroit general manager Dominic Ryan (who was part of the former promotion manager’s firing) stated that he “did not know if Evans was black and did not know the race of public figures such as Barack Obama and Michael Jordan.”
The backlash from the leaked deposition was immediate and unforgiving.
The Washington Post and Newsweek took the story national and retailers around the country reportedly began announcing that they were discontinuing selling Founders beers.
Feeling the increasing heat, Founders, which is 90% owned by Spanish brewing conglomerate Mahou San Miguel, pulled out of last weekend’s Detroit Fall Beer Festival, one of the state’s biggest beer events.
Then in a Friday email to ticket holders, Founders announced that it is canceling its last ever Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) release at the Detroit taproom and closing the Detroit location “until further notice,” citing concerns over its employees’ safety.
In conjunction with the cancelation, Founders’ co-founders Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, who still retain 10% of the company, released a joint statement…
We understand that we have built our company because of the support of our customers – who are really more than that. They’re our fans. They’re the reason that Founders exists and has seen the growth it has over the years.
Over the course of 22 years, we’ve created a company and a culture that was built on the very basis that beer is the conduit that brings people together. It connects us and celebrates people from all different backgrounds.
First and foremost, we apologize to our more than 600 employees – who work hard every day to make and serve some of the best beer in the world – for all of the negative attention. We have committed to work closely with them to make any changes to the company that need to be made to ensure a positive future. Those conversations are underway.
Because of the pending litigation that has received so much attention of late, we can’t talk any more specifically about the lawsuit that has been in the news. But we want to tell our customers in Detroit, in Michigan and around the country that seeing the integrity and value system of Founders being questioned is one of the hardest things we have ever experienced.
We had been advised not to talk about any of this, even as allegations have been cast in our direction. But we realize we need to talk about this now.
Whatever falls short – according to our culture bringing people together and standards – will be fixed. Our Founders Family will point us in the right direction.
To our local customers – please know that we are committed to Michigan and expanding our presence to Detroit because of the people here, from all walks of life, who come together around the aspects of life they enjoy. We want to continue to earn the trust it takes to be one of those.
To beer enthusiasts everywhere – we want to continue to earn your support.
To the restaurants and bars that serve our products – we share your values. We’ll fix any issues. We want to continue to help you make your customers happy.
Additionally, we want you to know that we withdrew from the Fall Beer Fest in Detroit this weekend so that we wouldn’t serve as a distraction, given all of the recent headlines. We made that decision with the safety of our employees in mind. It was with the best of intentions – for our company, our industry and the city. We look forward to participating in future years.
Thank you,
Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers
Co-Founders
Adding to everything, the Detroit Eater reported that Heather O’Brien, a Founders’ Detroit employee, took to Facebook to call for a peaceful protest at the closed taproom on Saturday…
This from O’Brien’s post…
“We are Detroit Founders Employees, WE as a team are not racists and we need support in proving that WE are Detroit, not Founders. We are asking for a peaceful protest. We are asking for signage, we are going to wear black in solidarity. We ask for your very peaceful support.”
And although there is never a good time for something like this, Founders increasingly troubled situation comes at what may be the brewery’s slowest period of growth by far since Mahou first took a minority stake in 2014, according to MLive.com.
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Big H/T to Detroit Eater and Good Beer Hunting for their terrific reporting on all of last week’s events
