KENTWOOD - Jason and Kris Spaulding, co-owners of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids, are three steps closer to opening a new microbrewery in the city of Kentwood following a trio of approvals granted by City Commission earlier this month.

The Spauldings' yet-to-be-named microbrewery, which will be housed in a commercial building at 2855 Lake Eastbrook Blvd., was given special land use and site plan approval, as well as a recommendation for a state liquor license, by commissioners at a meeting on Sept. 18.

Depending on how swiftly construction moves ahead, Jason Spaulding said he hopes they will be able to open the new Kentwood location on the anniversary of Brewery Vivant's original opening, which occurred in December 2010.

"Essentially what we're doing is taking a warehouse building and ... building some things back. I think we can get it done before the end of the year," he said.

"Our original Brewery Vivant opened on Dec. 20, 2010, and I kind of have that in the back of my mind that it would be fun to open that same date here," he said.

Plans for the microbrewery call for 13,400 square feet for production and 3,600 square feet for the tap room and a small retail space, while the remaining 7,300 square feet of the building will continue to house clothing retailer Action Supply Safety & Workwear.

Due to recent changes to the city's ordinance governing microbreweries, any such establishment serving alcoholic beverages by the glass is also required to provide customers with food service. As things stand now, the Spauldings plan to fulfill that requirement by making provisions for food delivery on-site.

Later on, they hope to make use of on-site food trucks or trailers.

The microbrewery would seat no more than 99 guests in its tap room, according to the site plan. Tentative hours of operation for the tap room are listed as 2 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday, while the retail portion of the establishment would be open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Sunday.

There will be a four-beer maximum per customer per visit at the microbrewery, which, according to Jason Spaulding, will serve some of the same selections offered at Brewery Vivant.

"We'll have some of the same offerings but I think with the concept we might loosen things up a little bit, as well," Spaulding said. "We kind of have what we're calling the farmhouse-beer focus, and it just means it's derived from what we found in Belgium and France when we were there.

"We'll have those (Brewery Vivant) offerings, but we might focus on ... a different type of beer."