Founder’s Brewery Temporarily Shuts Down In Detroit Amid Backlash

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Founders Brewery is closing it’s Detroit location temporarily starting today following allegations of racial discrimination. Michigan’s largest brewery has been steadily losing business after a deposition was made public this week in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a fired employee. Founders president Dave Engbers says the location will remain closed until Tuesday.

“This is a highly emotional issue, and so I can’t speak exactly to threats, but there’s some tension down there,” Engbers tells the Michigan News Network. “Sometimes we think we’re in the beer industry, and it should be fun and exciting and bring people together and not tear them apart, so we thought we should just take a little break.”

Founders is also not taking part in the Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival in Detroit this weekend. The lawsuit by former employee Tracy Evans, who is black, claims he was fired after telling a supervisor he was going to report a racist work environment to human resources. In a deposition, Founders general manager Dominic Ryan said he didn’t definitively know Evans’ race and wouldn’t even say if former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick or former President Barack Obama were black.