Eaton Rapids Craft Company — Restaurant in Eaton Rapids

Been here a few times with mixed results. They've reinvented themselves 3 (or 4?) times and after the last couple visits I was sure they had it figured out, and I was glad. Have really wanted these guys to do well, bringing craft beer and creative food to small town Eaton Rapids.

Was very excited when they announced a "Blues, Brews, Bourbon, and BBQ" event 2 months ago. Well, today was the day. Brought my friends from Lansing out to the event and the end result? This was the first beer event I've ever been to where I had only water!

We got there 30 minutes before the advertised start time because we expected a crowd, since the beer list was steller - Bourbon County Stout, CBS, Backwoods, Flying Buffalo, etc. Upon arriving, we learned that the 2 pm start time was only for the beer. The BBQ wasn't available until 3. We were hungry, so we ordered from their brunch menu, which seems to have shrunk from our last visit. My dish was tasty, but cold. My husband enjoyed his food, but our friend was served a cold, tasteless burger.

Anyway, we were mostly there for the beer, and the advertised start time was only a few minutes away. In the meantime 2 other friends joined us and we excitedly awaited the beer tapping. Around 2:05 we flagged down our waitress who informed us they were still tapping the beer - because it takes a LOT of time - and they were still printing out the menus. When we asked if we could put in our beer order (we knew what we wanted, since they'd advertised for 2 months), the response from our waitress was snippy, saying it wasn't ready and it was beyond her control.

Cannot, for the life of me, figure out why they would wait for the event to start to begin tapping the beer and printing the menus. This was advertised 2 months in advance and the finalized beer menu was published a few days ago. Plus, the restaurant opened at 9 am, so they had ample time to prepare.

Okay, fine. About 15 minutes later, another waitress began passing out the food menu, for the food part of the event that didn't start for another 40 minutes. Still no beer menu or beer anywhere in sight. When flagged down and asked again, our waitress said she had asked her 2 bosses but they still had nothing to report and no time estimate for when the beer would become available. By now, the restaurant was at near capacity and everyone was drinking water.

I've hinted that service was terrible, but I want to leave no doubt...it was bad - slow, unknowledgeable about the day's events, full of excuses, and a bit unfriendly. Admittedly, until the actual event start time, there was only 1 waitress for the entire restaurant, so she is not entirely to blame. There were numerous other employees in the building, but none were stepping in to help her. Where were her 2 bosses, or a manager, or anyone with some responsibility for the success of the restaurant?

We finally gave up at 2:40, paid our bill, tipped way too generously, and left. On our way out, we noticed the patrons sitting at the bar (regulars?) were drinking Bourbon County Stout. Evidently, you had to be in the inner circle to get the advertised beer?

Also noticed after we left that at 2:20 they'd had the time to post to Untappd that almost all the advertised beer was tapped and available. I say 'almost', because one of the advertised beers was still not tapped and was listed as "On Deck". So, they said (most) of the beer was available at 2:20, but we still couldn't get it when we left at 2:40.

After many visits here and many chances, this...

I wanted to like this place more, I really did. The food was decent, the service was fine. It was an off night, so no live music, not many people, pretty quiet. The place looks nice - has that typical “craft beer joint” vibe. The food? Maybe a small step up from somewhere like Chili’s... but that’s about where the “pros” end.

Let’s start with the pricing: Way too high for what you get. Granted, I ordered one of the pricier menu items, the $26 brisket platter, but it sure didn’t feel like I got $26 worth. The brisket was just okay. After living in NC and having proper brisket that melts in your mouth, this was mid-tier at best. And the sides? A tiny ramekin of coleslaw and what looked like a five-year-old’s handful of thin, overdone fries. Honestly, I felt ripped off. It was like paying five-star BBQ prices for a three-star spread. My wife did slightly better with a wrap, but still the same stingy portion of fries and way overpriced for what it was.

Either bump up the portions, or knock down the prices to reflect reality. You can't tell me cabbage and potatoes are breaking the bank, even with inflation.

What really ticked me off though? The plastic. They’re charging premium prices and serving non-beer drinks in those awful, cheap plastic cups - you know the kind, with the white rim that starts flaking off. That white powder? That’s microplastics. Yum. You can ask for a glass pint glass, which I did, but why should you have to?

And then they serve the food on the flimsiest plastic plates I’ve ever seen - floppy, maybe 3mm thick, square single-use things that scream “disposable.” At those prices? -Come on- The flatware was metal, but clearly the cheapest they could get - the kind that bends if you look at it wrong. So while trying to saw through tough brisket, you end up scraping across the plate and digging up even more microplastics for dessert. MmmmMmm!

The high prices I could maybe overlook, make it a “once in a blue moon” stop. But the combination of premium pricing and bargain-bin flatware etc.? That’s a dealbreaker. It’s not even about the money - it’s the principle. Serving food on/in what is now a known health hazard, and then just to add insult to injury charging One Star Michelin prices isn’t something I can ignore.

Either they’re getting gouged on their lease, can’t manage overhead, or the owners are just plain greedy. (And if Gordon Ramsay has taught us anything, a lot of owners don’t have a clue what they’re doing.)

So yeah - even if you roll your eyes at my plastics rant, trust me, there really, really, really should be more alarm about it than there is. But setting that aside, at the very least, you walk out of this place feeling like you didn’t get your money’s worth. And that’s enough to keep us from going back or...

I have been to the Eaton Craft Co. 3 times since it opened.

My first experience was shortly after it opened, when I was served tasteless meatloaf, excessively salty mashed potatoes, and under-cooked vegetables. The waitress had no idea what was on the menu, while the beer I wanted was not available, and couldn't tell me what carbonated beverages were available as an alternative. Moreover, for the service and quality of the food, it was way overpriced.

My second experience was fall of 2017, the food was better than the time before and the service too. The menu was completely different. I went with a friend who had never experienced dining there. We felt it was still overpriced and weren't blown away by any means, but the beer was good.

My third experience was last week, and it was worse than the last visit, but only slightly better than my first experience. I went with a friend and we both got the same thing, the stuffed chicken and water. For a $40 meal, we certainly didn't have much on our plates. Our "whipped" potatoes were described by our waiter as more "fluffy", but what was delivered was excessively salty, literally running of the plate, and almost granular-like. I've had whipped potatoes and they don't look or taste like that. it was the first time I'd actually sat in the indoor sitting (near the bar) and it was terrible lighting, too dark to see the person I was eating with or my food. The waiter was okay, but not really worth any comments.

I have kept trying this restaurant out because friends have tried it more times and say good things, but I have yet to experience that. I understand a business, particularly a restaurant, going through transition. After 2 years, I expect more of an improvement. I can't guarantee it, but it unlikely that I'll openly want to try this place again. I'll stick to Abie's and...