KALAMAZOO, MI --

The grand opening of Arcadia Brewing Co.'s Kalamazoo Riverfront Brewery, Pub and Kitchen

on May 8 will include live music, and tap sale proceeds from the first day will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters - A Community of Caring.

The opening day will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. and live music by the Kalamazoo Pipe Band. Arcadia's opening day also will be the pub's first "Drink One Down - Support Your Town" in Kalamazoo, where the proceeds from tap sales will be donated to a local charity -- in this case, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The $7 million, 30,000-square-foot building at 701 E. Michigan Ave., along the Kalamazoo River and in the city's River's Edge area, includes a brewpub, brewing and packaging space and offices.

Along with serving Arcadia Ales' signature brews on 24 taps, brewery staff will serve house-made soft drinks and locally sourced meat from the company's wood-fired BBQ smoker from Texas. Vegetarian and gluten free options also will be served.

Customers order from the food counter at the pub, and servers provide drink service at the pub's communal seating.

Arcadia's Kalamazoo opening comes about 18 years after Arcadia's original brewpub and brewing facility, which Suprise wanted to open in Kalamazoo, opened in Battle Creek. That operation will continue.

The bright, airy space has an industrial feel, with steel and wooden features. Floor joists from Corporation Hall, which served as Kalamazoo's first city hall and recently was renovated, can be seen in the brewery's floors, along the bar trim and on the drink rails. Suprise estimates the wood is at least 250 years old.

The Kalamazoo property was the site of a coal-burning Consumers Energy power plant for decades, but had sat vacant for about 20 years. Suprise bought the land, valued at $88,000, for $5,000 from the Kalamazoo Brownfield Redevelopment Authority last year and has worked with the authority to remove contaminated soil and underground infrastructure.

More than 90 percent of the brewery's production will move to Kalamazoo. The brewery's 50-barrel brewhouse will allow initial brew capacity to be about 21,000 barrels in Kalamazoo, along with 5,000 barrels in Battle Creek. Arcadia produced 12,900 barrels in 2013. One barrel equals 31 gallons.

The new facility gives Arcadia space to produce 60,000 barrels annually.

Arcadia's property includes almost 400 feet of riverfront property. Construction this spring and summer will continue on a beer garden with an amphitheater stage and a canoe and kayak launch.

Emily Monacelli covers local government and beer for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.