The owners of Griffin Crow Brewing Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday morning to avoid further litigation between the partners.
Co-owner Scott LePage said the bankruptcy filing will not affect the operations or employees of Griffin Claw Brewing Co., which has restaurants and bar counters in Birmingham and Rochester. The bankruptcy filing will allow Griffin Claw to continue business as usual and preserve jobs, he said.
“Nothing has changed. We are open, our patio is busy and we’re ready for a fun Friday night,” he said, adding that all employees and vendors are being paid. “This is an ownership disagreement.”
LePage’s father, Norman LePage, founded Griffin Claw Brewing Company in 2011 with partner Ray Nicholson. After Nicholson’s death in 2019, a dispute began between the LePage family and Nicholson’s heirs. According to the LePage family, the two sides could not agree on who has what rights arising from the sale of Clubhouse BFD in Rochester to Griffin Claw Brewing Company in 2019. Clubhouse BFD in Rochester Hills is now branded as Griffin Claw Brewing Company.
Scott LePage said he contacted media after the filing and wanted to let customers know their business would not be affected.
“We’re a profitable company. We’ve always been profitable. We just found ourselves in this situation and our management couldn’t agree on anything,” Scott LePage said.
The Beacon Park restaurant Lumen Detroit is also owned by the LePage family and will not be affected by this.
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
