By Aaron Michell
Late this summer, Branimal’s Party Store moved from their location on the northeast corner of M-115 and 20 Mile to their new bigger location just across the road. And the move to a bigger location was just the beginning.
In addition to now having the space to offer hundreds of new store items, plans are in the works to add a hard cider tasting room/bar and gas station, along with a host of other new offerings.
The first thing customers notice at the new store is the sheer amount of space in comparison to the old building.
“Everybody loves it,” said Denise Kolonich, who helps run the store along with her son and owner Brandon Butler. “They’re glad we’ve moved, nothing but positive feedback. We’ve added over 500 new items, between liquor and food together. We get new stuff every week.”
Adding new items has always been something Branimal’s takes pride in. With a notable drink selection that is second to none, Brandon and Denise do their best to add items per customer request.
“Any time somebody comes in for something, and we don’t have it, we’ll put it on our list and order it,” Kolonich said. “We’ve been doing that since we opened at our last location – that’s why we have so much stuff!”
Meanwhile, Brandon has been trying to stay out of the ordering process, as he occasionally finds himself purchasing a little bit of everything.
“I’ve been trying my best to stay out of the ordering process, only because I have a problem – and the store kind of shows that problem!” Butler said. “I like entire collections, and whole varieties, and sequences of color patterns… for somebody who likes that stuff, it’s a fun thing to own a store, but it’s kind of a dangerous thing financially!”
According to Brandon, when he first bought the store, he had the needs of the community in mind. And when a local asks for something, he finds a way to carry it.
“I have the store there for the community, and I want to offer as much as I can for the community,” Butler said. “And anytime anybody comes in and we don’t have something, by the time they walk out the door, we try to order that. We try to carry everything that everybody asks for, within reason. We have a lot of the obscure stuff, and that’s kind of what I hope for. I want people to look at our place and say, ‘They have it over there. Whatever it is, they probably have it.’ And that’s what I want.”
Branimal’s plans to add more items in the near future, including hunting and fishing licenses, lottery, and sporting goods.
“Upstairs, we have a 1600 square foot loft,” Butler said. “We’re planning on putting more sporting goods stuff there: hunting, fishing, camping items; touristy type items: travel games and clothing with our Branimal’s information and Up North type items.”
After working out some logistical and regulatory hiccups to get the license for the cider tasting room, Butler anticipates having the cider tasting room open for customers this spring. He’s long desired to open a tasting room in the area, and when the opportunity to purchase the new building arose, he immediately envisioned opening a tasting room.
“Ever since I had a very special event with my oldest daughter, where I got to try some hard cider’s – it was something I’d never tried before – it was my inspiration after that to introduce people to hard ciders,” Butler said. “I was just really impressed with the taste of them, and the fact that Michigan has so many to offer, and that so few people seem to know about them. When I got the new building and seen how it was laid out, I thought it was perfect… but I wanted mine to be unique. So instead of being an actual tasting room where you make your own ciders, I want to have all kinds of Michigan ciders featured, not just one. I’m not going to make any hard ciders at all, I’m just going to feature Michigan hard ciders. Our goal is to have at least 24 Michigan ciders on tap, at least, but we will have a full bar offering in our tasting room. Right now, we have over 100 varieties of hard ciders in stock, and this way you can try some of them in small glasses before you decide which one you want to buy.”
Along with the tasting room, Branimal’s plans to add some gourmet appetizers in addition to their current selection of pizza and subs. They will also be adding outdoor seating for the summer months. They’ve already made improvements on their current selections.
“We changed our subs, we now put a half pound of meat on them so they’re very thick and meaty,” Butler said. “We try to make them like I would want them. We’ve got new pizza ovens that are conveyer, so they cook our pizzas more consistently and much faster, and we can do up to six at a time. We hope when the tasting room gets open that we’ll offer some gourmet type appetizers. We’re definitely going to step up our food offerings. We’re going to get creative and have a pretty cool menu once we open that up.”
Butler, an entrepreneur by trade who also own’s Networking Butler and BB’s Tree Service, has a long-term vision for the corner of M-115 and 20 Mile Road.
“We’re working on plans for a gas station up there too,” Butler said. “It’s not just a cider tasting room, it’s all the big picture with the party store, the tasting room, and the gas station. It’s all part of a bigger plan to develop that corner. We’re getting closer and closer every day to getting our permits that we need to start the construction for that. It should be pretty good offering for the community.”