This is a really good place to go for some great beer and food. The building is nice and open with good service. You go place your food order at the kitchen and pick it up when it is done. The two sandwiches I have had were excellent and they serve some of the best microbrew available. read more

Love Founders! Amazing beer and staff. I just need to find better times to go every time where are in the area it is absolutely packed! Which is great for business I can't believe how much they have grown since the beginning. It is always a great place to hangout while we are home. read more

Great atmosphere with exceptional beers. The staff is very friendly and their knowledge and passion for what they do comes through in the experience. Red's Rye got me started with Founders, but the overall greatness keeps me coming back. read more

The tour and tasting was amazing. John lead your tour he was so friendly and hilarious. We had a great time and were able to try the Bolt Cutter 15th anniversary beer. John and Mike made the tour. We will definitely come back. And of course all the beers are amazing :) read more

Ended up at Founder's almost by accident. In town on business and wanted to find a lace with good draft beer and a decent sandwich. Got all that and much more. Didn't even think about Founder's being in Grand Rapids when I yelped breweries and had to go. As with any craft beer you come to know from a distance, it is exponentially better fresh. The old familiar Centennial IPA was on the nitro tap and was all of the good citrus hoppiness you want in a creamy smooth presentation. The house made pastrami was tender and just fatty enough. To top it off, an unexpected delight. The band is the Wayward Wanderers: a drummer, banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin/fiddle and stand up bass. Two of the guys have dreds and the vocals sounds like they just inhaled helium. Playing bluegrass. And somehow it all works wonderfully well. read more

Excellent beer selection (obviously) and friendly staff in the bar. The gift shop is awesome and everything is very reasonably priced. Those cashiers need a serious lesson in customer service, though. Not once did anyone greet me, ask if I needed help, and when I was finished purchasing my items, the cashier did not say thank you, goodbye, or have a nice a day. Regardless, the beer dip was pretty awesome and the atmosphere is nice and inviting. read more

Beer Excellent, Server Very Good, Food not great - BLT Sourdough not sourdough, atmosphere typical beer bar, nice location, outside seating not barrier free for handicap, music load rap, not great. read more

Great rustic feel. Multiple bars so it's easy to pick up a drink. Reasonably priced beers. If you're not a fan of beers, sodas are $2 with free refills. There's one pool table. Bathrooms are clean. They play loud dubstep music inside so conversations are difficult to hear. There's a covered and heated outdoor patio that is much quieter. read more

Good beer but poor service and horrible wait time to get your food in a reasonable amount of time. So if you are looking for a place to hang out with family that includes little kids look elsewhere read more

Had a work event in their Centennial Room. Just wanted to give a shout out to DJ the bartender and Mallory the catering manager. Everything was great! So nice to work with! DJ is a fantastic bartender with a great personality. The facility was perfect, loved the outdoor patio. Will definitely use them again! read more

Visited Founders for the first time. Took a seat outside. The server asked what we wanted to drink and we told her we didn't know since it was our first time there. She told us to go to the bar and read the chalkboard and she would be back for our order. Really? No suggestions...never asked what we like to drink, etc. Made my way to the bar and had to wait about 10 minutes to be served despite the fact there were at least 8 people behind the bar with shirts on that say I work here who weren't really doing anything. Horrible service. Too bad because the atmosphere is nice and the beer is ok but we will not be back. There are plenty of other breweries with good atmosphere, good beer and great service to go to. read more

Until last night, I had not been to Founder's. I have enjoyed their beers and still do, but the trip to the brewery was a let down. Customer service is lacking...there's isn't a greeter at the door so unless you're a return customer you don't know that with the exception of beverages, the place is self serve. Find your own seat, walk up and order your food, walk up and pick up your food. Its basically Old Country Buffet with beer. The food quality is below average at best. I had the pastrami sandwich with a side of the "tangy" slaw. Their house made pastrami was very good, the sandwich was not. Very mild rye bread that fell apart, not the dense Jewish rye you would get on a typical deli pastrami sandwich...and who puts lettuce and onion on a pastrami sandwich?? The bread was toasted...again odd for a "deli" which this professes to be. The tangy slaw is shredded cabbage soaked in vinegar. It had no real flavors except for that of wilted cabbage and white vinegar. If you're looking for a good Founder's beer experience, buy a six pack of Founder's All Day IPA take it home and order a pizza. Oh, and the kicker...$14.00 to park for 3 hours in the Founder's lot. I spent more to park than I did on beer. To the management of the Founders deli...do yourselves a favor and head to Ann Arbor and visit Zingerman's. True deli food and exceptional service. They offer training...just sayin' read more

I'm a big fan of Founders Brews... food is good beer is excellent.

By the gods, this place is the bomb. Visited sbout 2 weeks sgo. Date & I split a Bad Habit & each had flights. The boy enjoyed french bread pizza. Wasn't expecting as much from the food, but boy was it amazing. Mecca for delicious beverages. Would have come back at night for the music scene if we had a sitter. If I lived local, I would definitely be there often, but not alcoholic-often. Or maybe..... read more

Stopped by for an early Saturday lunch (right at 11:00 when they opened) w/2others. Interesting, large space w/indoor and outdoor seating, pool table, a shop w/an array of t-shirts, etc. Great sandwiches...we had a BLT (good bacon, great bread), pulled pork (nicely done w/a sweet sauce of their own making I think), and a nice rendition of a Philly cheesesteak. Quick service, knowledgable server. I'm not the beer guy but one of the others was...we had 8 samples (2 flights) ranging from pretty strong stuff to a couple of very smooth fruit-flavored offerings. If you can't find something you like from their list of 25 or so, you're just not trying (like saying you can't find music you like on Pandora). They also do tours but were already booked up. Word is that it's often really slammed w/a queue to get in so plan on taking some time during peak hours! Live music also (not at 11:00 AM on Saturday though! Fun experience...will go back. read more

Enjoyed a small private party in the Centenial Room upstairs above the gift shop. Bartenders were very helpful and offered blending of beers to get the desired tastes. Highly recommend this room for a small get together. read more

Honestly, there is no better brewery in the Midwest (IMO). Founder's brews span the width and breadth of craft beer and every beer fan should at least try their signatures like Dirty Bastard, Breakfast Stout, and All Day IPA. The brewery itself is nice, well kept and spacious, but despite all their seating additions (including a nice heated patio) it is difficult to get a table most evenings! With the occasional live music and night time event there is always a reason to keep going back. read more

Well, where to begin? Let's start with parking. There's very few spaces in front of the building, but plenty of street parking within a two block radius. If you're there after 5pm weekdays or anytime on a weekend, meters are free. Once you walk in you'll see the deli and a long wavy bar. Also take note of the gnomes in the rafters. The beer is phenomenal. If you're from the Midwest, I suggest you choose one of the taproom-only brews that you can't get in bottles. To everyone else: go for anything! They occasionally have an oddball brew that isn't perfect, but experiment while your here. The sandwiches are massive and the appetizers are plentiful. Worth the $9-10. Of all the times I've gone, only once has the service been subpar. Every other time there has been any number of employees making sure you have all you need. If it's warm enough, sit or stand on the patio. Monday nights get especially packed due to pint night and you can expect the music nights (Thurs/Sat) to make it cozy as well. It's far too easy to spend an entire afternoon eating, drinking, and cracking peanuts, while catching up with friends. This place is one reason I want to move back to this city after grad school. read more

Founders is loud and fun and they have great beer! Their 120 non alcoholic beer is the best on the market. We used tobe able to get it in Ann Arbor, but sadly, not anymore. Go to Founders and have a great time. read more

After a night of being discriminated against by the Grand Rapids Brewing Company Manager (Chelle Bundle) and her employees "because we where not locals" my group of 5 ended up at Founders where we found that the beer, staff and services exceed any and all expectations we could have had. I now understand why this place is a GR landmark, I highly recommend Founders as a destination when visiting GR read more

The beer and deli sandwiches are top notch. I've brought several friends to Founders for beers but as some of my friends are light beer drinkers, they still like to go back for the sammiches while casually trying the beers. They are slowly comming around to craft beer but for now it's the craft sandwiches. read more

Pretty huge brewery. Its gets pretty crowded and parking is hard to find

Food and service is awesome. Was just there on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed. We waited a little while for our food, but nothing extraordinary given how busy they were. The wait staff was overly apologetic even though we told them numerous times that it was no big deal. We were content just hanging out and enjoying the beer. They discounted our bill on their own which was totally unnecessary (again, packed Saturday afternoon). read more

Founders is one of the greats! If I had to say anything negative about the place, is that it still gets extremely packed at peak hours even after the expansion. read more

Some great veggie sandwich options, french bread pizzas, beer cheese with pretzels, peanuts, tons of yummy grub! Do I need to even mention the beer?! Free live music on Thursday nights! Weekend music too! #GRBeerCity read more

beautiful bar, great food, large selection of tasty brews, and a great atmosphere!

One of the door guys was very rude to my boyfriend and it was his birthday! I like the atmosphere though. The inside is cozy and the outdoor patio is beautiful. And of course, a great selection of beers :) read more

Have the beer cheese dip and an All-Day IPA. You won't go wrong!

As a regular and mug club member at Founders, I'm proud to call this a local brewery. Founders is one of those names that is highly recognized and regarded across the country and in many parts of the world. The beer selection here is fantastic. They only serve their own beer, no liquors or anything else other than soft drinks. I could go on about the many different types of beer they offer, but there are plenty of other forums for that. The food is mostly sandwiches, but they are amazing sandwiches. They don't do build your own, but you can order and customize anything on the menu to suit your tastes. The monthly special is also not something to overlook. They often have fantastic one-off creations. As far as the atmosphere goes, Founders offers live bands a couple times a week. Many are free, some require $5 cover. 21 and up only on certain evenings and after certain times. Founders is also a great destination for lunches, where you can get full service at the tables until 3pm, at which point you have to go get your own food. I only ask that as Founders continues to grow and expand, they don't forget about us locals who have supported them through thick and thin. read more

We visited the brewery about a month ago and took a tour of the facilities. We had a great experience and would highly recommend the tour to others. We received a free pint of beer and pint glass and some other swag at the end so that basically paid for the tour. John was a fun tour guide and was very knowledgable as well. The tasting room was absolutely packed and people were fighting over tables. The reason I decided to write a review now is because I went to a Founder tap takeover at a local Traverse City bar today to try the sought-after KBS and their rep, Joe gave us a free hat and other goods. This is great company, with great employees and excellent beer! read more

Fabulous place. Great beer and the best original sandwiches! We come here every time we're in town

Met a friend here for lunch on June 30. It was my first time and I'll be back. In the category of "Bars that serve food" it earns Five-Stars. Very casual and informal. I especially liked that every sandwich can be ordered as a salad which means all the fixings are served on a bed of lettuce as opposed to bread. read more

The service was terrible. We sat outside and eventually had to take our appetizers inside in order to get a couple take-out boxes and a check because out servers were nowhere to be found. Guess they take your card right when you order even though you're sitting at a table because chances are you wont get service much. I had had one of their IPAs before and thought it was great but we got a flight with about nine beers and after the first three they just started getting worse. One just tasted like salt. The patio was great but the service and beers were so bad I would not return. We ordered apps and one was good (I think it was a cheese dip) but the bruschetta was basically pureed tomatoes from a can with some basil added to it. The bread served with the apps was phenomenal however. read more

Founders has the best IPA I have tasted, bar none. Im not a fan of thier food lineup, but its ok. The beers win GR Beer City USA.

Attitude, fruit flies & reality TV...The moment we sat down at a table, we were struck with attitude and lack of patience by our server. We left our table to sit at the bar where again unfriendly servers and attitude reigned. Only smile came from the busy young man schlepping the food out of the kitchen. We sat and watched as other customers were given the same treatment. Did I mention the television was dialed into some reality Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader program? Really Founders? You're just NOT all that. We're out-of-towners, don't go often and in the bar/restaurant business...our third and last visit. read more

Sweet mother of god, the beer cheese is the best chips and dip that I've EVER had and probably will EVER have. So addicting! Staff was very attentive and the beer is amazing! It's decorated very nicely and I will definitely be coming back again..and again read more

Frequent visitor - highly recommend! The staff, while quirky, are friendly, fun and well-informed. The beer - there are always many exceptional offerings on tap (wide range of styles) and the wait for a beer is short, no matter which area you're seated in. The store has many great offerings to bring home or for gift-giving. It's fun to sit outside in the summer and in the beer garden area (especially in the fall). People here are friendly and the atmosphere is jovial with all ages, and usually a mix of locals and out of towners. The hummus is oddly delicious and very filling for a low price. I like the simple menu, the sandwiches are huge and enough to share also for a reasonable price. Over 50 visits and I've never had a bad experience. Great spot to take out of town guests. You do need to wait in line to order you're food, it's not a big deal, unique is all. Also, great for groups. read more

"Woohoo! As good as it gets!" is exactly right. The location, available parking and ambiance are inviting and comfortable. You can't blame them for being without seating half the time, because they're just that popular of a location. That brings me to the beer... They aren't trying to be anyone but themselves and damn does it taste good. The waitstaff has their job and they do it well... getting food is a process you learn once and appreciate. I'm really trying to find a way to give that one critical piece of advice... but I honestly can't think of one. 5 stars the whole way! read more

Their beer? Delicious. Their food? This is what keeps me coming back to their brewery! Great ambiance, food, and beer means this place has the whole package. If I had to look for a flaw, it would be how busy the place gets, but can you blame people? read more

Great place to hangout at and have a couple beers and awesome food. Everyone must try the Charises Reuben and the crab dip.