Short's Brewing Company Bellaire Pub — Restaurant in Kearney Township

I've been debating writing this review for a few weeks. Let me preface what I'm about to say with. This is merely constructive criticism from a long time fan. I love this place and have been coming here since I was a kid, back when it was the original floor plan. You have a great food, great beer/cider, great service. You have an amazing product and great service. But there's definitely some opportunity for new energy, even when there's an event or music, the atmosphere just seems tired.

It's way too bright in room with the stage after dark. Especially when live music is happening. Even just making it as bright as the main bar would help. There's also too many tables in the stage room when live music is happening. Ditch the two large tables right in front of stage so people can dance on nights with music. It's hard to socialize here a lot of the time, people seemed confined to their tables. The vibes from the music never really matches the atmosphere in which they’re performing, not because it’s bad music, but it’s hard to enjoy while sitting at a table. There was a really good band playing a few weeks ago, no one seated at the large tables closest to stage. It felt awkward that the few people in the brewery were sitting at tables in that dining room for an event like this.

Work on event coordination/marketing. Don’t have an event start at/do giveaways at 4 pm and have a band start at 8:30 pm. Feels like I have to choose between getting the promos or seeing the band. Also, if your advertising that a band starts at 8:30, they should start at 8:30, not before 8.

You are by far the best brewery in Michigan and have amazing food as well. Great location, love the building itself, just needs some new energy blown...

Location / Atmosphere - Very roomy place with good seating.  Love the different level's / sections. We sat in what I would call the dining room. Looked like they had a larger section for what I would consider a 'beer garden'.

Food / Beverage - Good menu of 'out of the ordinary' bar food.  It was a cooler day when we were there and I had a bowl of the 'roasted red pepper' bisque and the 'Old Man Thunder' which was a nice change of pace. Both soup and sandwich were excellent. My wife had 'The Rift' which is basically a Ruben.  Nothing special but good none the less. Others in our party had the 'Someday' and 'Cruise Control'. All good food... And a nice selection of beers and ciders...

Service - Very quick and friendly service.  I did have to go to the bar to ask for silverware for our table as somehow it was left off when we sat down. Not very friendly bartender at the smaller 'service bar'. Kind of annoyed with me.

In summary - Overall a very nice place in Northern Michigan. It would be nicer to see a bigger menu. I'm sure that it's hard to do this given the very 'seasonal' business that you get. Changing up the menu in busier months might be an option. Like that you are using a more 'modern' way of seating tables. Nice to have a text message sent to my phone when a table opened up. Didn't expect this type of service in Northern MI. Will be back if were in...

Horrible. We arrived to shorts brewery on a Sunday evening to begin our vacation. After waiting 15 minutes (just to sign in on a system the employees didn't seem to understand) we were told that our wait time would be 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, which we agreed to. We then decided to get drinks and appetizers. Our appetizers were lost in the mix which ended up taking 45 minutes to get. We were not seated at our table for 2 hours...yes 2 hours. Upon being seated and originally agreeing to an outdoor table (which by now was very cold outside) we immediately ordered. It then took over an hour to get our food. I asked to speak to a manager, told our experience and asked to move inside after being there for 3 hours, which she did. Our food finally came and we were out in 3.5 hours. Did we receive anything off our bill? No. An I'm sorry? No. However, if you bring your used water skis to them, you can receive a gift certificate. Apparently, Shorts doesn't believe in customer service or just plain admitting when you messed up and doing something to make the customer happy. I've been going to shorts for many years and have seen the customer service decline the bigger it gets. After this last experience, we will...