Brew Detroit acquired by Livonia beverage company; operations will move to Marshall
A Livonia-based beverage company specializing in imported craft spirits and manufacturing partnerships with more than 10 brands is beefing up its craft beer portfolio with the recent acquisition of two Michigan breweries.
Earlier this month, Livonia's Benchmark Beverage Co.. acquired Brew Detroit, a contract brewery in Corktown. Brew Detroit, noted for its specialized brews such as the Mexican lager Cerveza Delray, shuttered its taproom in late January.
Auday Arabo, president and CEO of Benchmark Beverage Co., did not reveal financial details of the sale but said the company purchased Brew Detroit's assets and equipment.
At the end of 2024, Arabo told the Free Press, Benchmark also acquired Marshall's Roak Brewing Co., which produces Dark Horse beer.
Chuck Mascari Jr., who co-owned Roak Brewing Co., is now with Benchmark, Arabo said. In 2019, Roak Brewing Co., then based in Royal Oak, acquired Marshall-based Dark Horse Brewing, moving its operations to Marshall.
Benchmark Beverage will move all of Brew Detroit's operations to Marshall.
'We're keeping it Michigan, so that's the most important part, I think,' Arabo said. 'Brew Detroit, Great America, Roak, and Dark Horse will all be produced in Marshall. It's nice go-between, between Detroit and Chicago.'
Also with Benchmark is Thom Lipari, the recently retired CEO of Warren-based Lipari Foods.
Ahead of buying the Brew Detroit brand and assets, Benchmark Beverage, purchased its Great America brand.
Great America was only operating in Pennsylvania, but plans are to bring the line of flavored malt beverages to Michigan, Arabo said.
These recent acquisitions and brands make Benchmark Beverage Co., a leader in Michigan's locally owned craft beer market, Arabo said.
'While everybody's consolidating and getting smaller … we're trying to grow and purchase brands and build brands,' he said.
In recent years, multinational companies have acquired stakes or bought several Michigan craft brewers. That list includes Founders Brewing Co. selling a 90% majority stake to Spanish company Mahou San Miguel in 2019, Molson Coors bought Detroit's Atwater Brewery in 2020 and Short's Brewing Co. in Elk Rapids selling a 20% stake to Heineken in 2017.
'We've been told we're, you know, maybe the number four, number five brewing facility in the state of Michigan,' Arabo said. 'Whatever people decide we're proud that we're still family-owned in Michigan, Michigan made and want to continue to grow that.'
Benchmark Beverage, Arabo said, plans to continue five of Brew Detroit brands, including its signature Cerveza Delray, Yum Town, Campin', and Cloud 19. Its Cerveza Delray Oscura, a dark Mexican-style lager, Arabo said, will now be called Negra Cerveza Delray.
'We're trying to grow and purchase brands and build brands,' Arabo said. 'And, you know, Michigan's our home, so everything's going to be made in Michigan and exported to other states and hopefully other countries.'
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brew Detroit acquired by Livonia's Benchmark Beverage Co.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Upturn
2 hours ago
- Business Upturn
Marksans Pharma's UK subsidiary secures approval for Oxybutynin Hydrochloride oral solution
By Aditya Bhagchandani Published on June 19, 2025, 09:14 IST Marksans Pharma Limited announced today that its wholly owned UK-based subsidiary, Relonchem Limited, has received Marketing Authorization for Oxybutynin Hydrochloride 2.5mg/5ml Oral Solution from the UK's Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The product, used primarily for treating overactive bladder and urinary incontinence, expands Marksans' offering in the urology therapeutic segment and strengthens its European portfolio. The company, headquartered in Mumbai, manufactures and markets generic pharmaceutical formulations globally, with facilities in India, the US, and the UK—approved by regulatory bodies including the USFDA, UKMHRA, and Australia's TGA. 'This approval further reinforces our commitment to expanding our presence in regulated markets through high-quality generic products,' the company said in a press release. Disclaimer: The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Stock market investments are subject to market risks. Always conduct your own research or consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions. Author or Business Upturn is not liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.
Politico
5 hours ago
- Politico
Facing Colorado River crunch, Trump admin eyes SoCal groundwater
The situation on the Colorado River — the water supply for 40 million Westerners and half of all Californians — is dire. The waterway's flows have shrunk 20 percent since the turn of the century and climate scientists say it's not unreasonable to think that another 20 percent could be lost in the coming decades. To cities, farmers, tribes and industries from Wyoming to Mexico — but especially in legally vulnerable Arizona — that looks like pain. To the Los Angeles-based water company Cadiz Inc., that looks like opportunity. After trying and failing for more than two decades to pump ancient groundwater from beneath the Mojave Desert and sell it to Southern California water districts, the controversial company has set its sights on new customers over the border in the Grand Canyon State. 'We are hopeful that our projects can support the Bureau's efforts to manage Colorado River resources and Lake Mead,' Cadiz CEO Susan Kennedy (a former chief of staff to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) said on Wednesday. Her pitch: There's up to 2.5 million acre-feet of untapped water in the Mojave Desert her company can move and store across the arid Southwest. In California, the project is a perpetual political football, opposed by the likes of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was broadly a champion of water projects but was concerned it would harm the desert environment. One former state lawmaker compared the dispute to 'Hatfield and McCoy, Palestinians and the Jews.' Now, Trump is getting in the mix. On Monday, the Interior Department announced plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the latest incarnation of the project, called the Mojave Groundwater Bank, touting it as 'an important tool to improve drought resiliency in the Colorado River Basin' though recognizing that it is only in 'early development.' And on Tuesday, the Trump administration official leading Colorado River negotiations for the federal government suggested to water power players in Arizona that they consider the project. 'The Cadiz sponsors think they have a lot of groundwater that could go somewhere. If it turns out they are right, would Arizona want to have a conversation about that water?' Scott Cameron, an acting assistant secretary at the Interior Department, asked at a meeting of a state water committee. For the Trump administration, trumpeting Cadiz is a chance to show it's doing something about the Colorado River despite the seven Western states remaining sharply divided over how to divvy up water cuts after current rules expire in 2026. For Cadiz, the endorsement is a political lifeline after decades of in-state opposition — and a return to more favorable treatment under the Trump administration even after the company dumped a lobbying firm with powerful Trump ties, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, after Biden took office. Under the Biden administration, Cadiz rebranded itself as an environmental justice-focused company seeking to fill accessibility gaps in economically depressed regions of the state. Kennedy even expressed concern after the November election that a new Trump administration would push back on its plans to repurpose 80 miles of steel pipe it purchased from the terminated Keystone XL oil pipeline to transport water. Opponents of the project, including conservation groups who say it could harm sensitive desert ecosystems, still see it as the same old concept. 'It's not surprising that an administration that wasted over 2 billion gallons of water under the guise of wildfire response thinks it's a good idea to overdraft a desert aquifer that supports federally protected land,' said Neal Desai, the senior program director for the National Parks Conservation Association. It's likely the project will draw some interest within Arizona, especially among the lowest-priority water users who are desperate to protect their Colorado River supplies as the seven states that share the waterway negotiate over new rules to govern the river. The state has already committed to cutting more than a quarter of its use from the river, and any cuts beyond that will fall first on Central Arizona cities and tribes unless alternative deals can be reached. But it will take a lot more than interest to make a deal happen. Cadiz has run into opposition from California state lawmakers and the State Lands Commission, which after urging from state Sen. Monique Limón and Assemblymember Isaac Bryan told Kennedy in a letter last week not to start construction on the pipeline that would transfer water without agency buy-in, which could take a year to two years. Crucially, Cadiz would almost certainly need buy-in from the long-skeptical Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, because any deals with Arizona would likely include Metropolitan taking Cadiz's water and leaving a portion of its Colorado River water in Lake Mead in exchange. Many of the hurdles Metropolitan has cited in the past, from water quality concerns to operational challenges, remain — and the district's board of directors also includes two prominent California environmentalists. Cadiz has yet to formally approach Metropolitan about its new plan. 'Metropolitan's board does not currently have any pending items from Cadiz to consider and none are planned for the foreseeable future,' Metropolitan spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch said by email. The last time the board reviewed anything from Cadiz was in 2002, when it voted to reject the project, she said. But, amid high-stakes Colorado River negotiations, it might be hard for Metropolitan to say no to a request that could help ease the path to a deal for another state. Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO's California Climate newsletter.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Huge national school chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The economic challenges of operating colleges, secondary, and primary schools can lead to unpleasant consequences for students, staff, and even alumni. Public school districts, in extreme situations, will close a campus and lease or sell the property when it is no longer needed. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter When it comes to private schools, financial distress can result in school closures, the sale of campuses, and, in some cases, bankruptcy filings. Related: Popular restaurant chain franchisee files Chapter 11 bankruptcy A major public university recently revealed that it will shut down one-third of its satellite campuses as a result of growing financial challenges and declining enrollment. Iconic Penn State University in State College, Pa., revealed in May 2025 that it would close seven of its 20 campuses, which are located in DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York, Pa., after two more academic years, University Business reported. Students who have not graduated by the 2026-27 academic year will be counseled on degree completion options and transfers to other Penn State campuses. Two private universities, St. Andrews University in North Carolina and Limestone University in South Carolina, announced in April that they will close at the end of the spring 2025 semester. Both blamed financial difficulties for their demise. Several college and university consolidations and mergers were also revealed in March and April by institutions looking for an answer to declining enrollment. The University System of Georgia said in April that it would consolidate East Georgia State University within Georgia Southern University. Villanova University in Pennsylvania announced in March that it will merge with Rosemont College, which will eventually become Villanova University Rosemont College. Cornish College of Arts in Washington in March, revealed it will change its name after a sale to Seattle University and become Cornish College of Arts at Seattle University. Huge educational institute chain owner Higher Ground Education Inc., formerly the world's largest Montessori school operator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a restructuring support agreement that will hand all of its equity to a prepetition secured lender. Related: Major nationwide trucking company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Houston-based debtor listed $100 million to $500 million in assets and liabilities, which includes over $127 million in funded secured debt and $144 million in unsecured funded debt. Higher Ground Education's largest unsecured creditors include over $13.2 million owed to Guidepost Financial Partner LLC, over $1.49 million owed to 775 Columbus LLC, over $939,000 owed to 214 E. Hallandale Beach LLC, and over $834,000 owed to Strike Inc. Under a restructuring support agreement between the debtor, equity holders, and lenders, investor 2HR Learning Inc. will provide debtor-in-possession financing consisting of $8 million in new money and a $2 million rollup of a prepetition bridge loan in exchange for all the debtor's equity. More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Founded in 2016 in Southern California as a Montessori school network, the debtor began building its system with 12 schools in 2018, expanded globally to 101 by 2022, and became the world's largest Montessori school owner with over 150 schools by the fall of 2024. The debtor operated its Montessori schools under several brands, including Guidepost Montessori, Beacon Elementary, Altitude Learning, TinyCare, and NeighborSchools. The debtor was never able to maintain and generate sufficient liquidity to fund operations since it opened, according to a declaration by company President Jonathan McCarthy. After several prepetition foreclosures and negotiated sales, the debtor's ownership of the Montessori schools plummeted to seven facilities on the petition date. Since 2020, the company has raised $335 million in funding, but the business has never generated positive cash flows from operations. The company reported a $55 million loss in 2024, a $103 million loss in 2023, and a loss of over $106 million in 2022. Higher Ground Education had lost $24.8 million through April in 2025. Related: Popular smoothie chain franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
