Cosmik fries back in Royal Oak

Project BarFly, the West Michigan-based hospitality group that oversees operations of HopCat, Grand Rapids Brewing Company and Stella’s Lounge, has reopened a HopCat restaurant in Royal Oak. The new 11,300 square foot restaurant sits on Main Street just a few blocks away from its original location on Fifth Avenue, which closed in the spring of 2020. The beer bar offers 60 taps of curated local craft beer and its widely-recognized comfort food menu with famous cosmikfries. “We’re thrilled to be back in the vibrancy of Royal Oak,” said Project BarFly CEO Ned Lidvall. “Given the challenges that the industry as a whole has faced the past couple of years, we are more than ready to hit the ground running. We have assembled a very strong team – led by Kinnewu Pulford – and we’re very excited to be a growth company again, and to continue our focus on craft beer, music, good times and ‘food your mom would make if she loved craft beer.’” The new HopCat in Royal Oak accommodates 266 guests, featuring three indoor dining areas with hi-top and low-top tables, mafia booths and a two-room private event space that can be combined into one larger space. The main bar has 30 available seats and a repurposed beer tap system and bar countertop from the original Royal Oak location as sustainability remains a core tenet for the HopCat brand. During warmer months, three roll-up garage doors will create an open-air dining space while an outdoor dog-friendly patio will offer guests 98 seats located along W. Main Street and Fifth Avenue. The restaurant features a state-of-the-art kitchen for dine-in guests as well as the company’s first separate kitchen to service off-premise customers, including carry-out, third-party delivery service and catering. This marks the first time in company history that a second kitchen will be utilized for this purpose, allowing HopCat to better serve all of its guests with timely service. Additionally, the music theme décor is on full display in the new space with a signature wall adorned with classic vinyl record covers and other accent walls featuring oversized famous musical artists and album art. HopCat is participating HopCat beverage experience on-the-go. 430 S Main Street, Royal Oak Hopcat.com