Rare Bird Brewpub Spotlight: Traverse City, Michigan

The combination of a craft brewery and a used bookshop is, on paper, a very specific kind of idea. In practice, at 229 Lake Ave in Traverse City, it turns out to be exactly right.

Rare Bird Brewpub pairs a carefully maintained used and rare book inventory with a craft brewing operation in a space that encourages staying longer than you planned. The books line the walls and fill the shelves between the bar and the tables, available to browse while you drink or to purchase and carry out alongside whatever you are taking home from the tap. The two things coexist with a naturalness that suggests they were always meant to be in the same building.

The beer is made in house and rotates frequently, with enough variety across the tap list to serve a range of preferences. The core philosophy is approachable craft done well, without the exclusivity that sometimes attaches itself to ambitious brewing programs. A good book and a good beer are democratic pleasures, and Rare Bird is built on that premise.

The location on Lake Ave puts Rare Bird close to the Traverse City waterfront, making it a natural stop before or after a walk along the bay. The interior has the comfortable, slightly worn character of a room that has held a lot of conversations and does not feel the need to look like it just opened yesterday.

Michigan Small Business Spotlight is proud to feature Rare Bird Brewpub as one of Northern Michigan’s most inventive and genuinely enjoyable small businesses.