Sylvia Rector

Detroit Free Press Restaurant Critic

More than 1,000 thirsty beer lovers are expected to line up Saturday morning for the opening of Detroit's HopCat craft brew bar and restaurant, marking its debut with a world record-setting 120-tap takeover by Shorts Brewing Co. and free orders of its signature Crack Fries all day.

"We had 1,200 people lined up when we opened in East Lansing with a 100-tap takeover, and this is a much bigger market," HopCat founder Mark Sellers said today, watching an army of workers put the finishing touches on his two-story, 700-seat dining, beer and music venue on Woodward Avenue.

A tap takeover is an event in which one brewer — in this case, Shorts, of Bellaire — takes over every tap in the bar. Shorts will provide 120 different brews, including vintage recipes and barrel-aged beers, on Saturday, setting a world record.

This is nationally known HopCat's fourth, and by far largest, location and the first to feature live music, said Sellers, 46, a former jazz pianist and self-described music geek. Entertainment is planned three nights a week in the expansive Huma Room upstairs, which features a professional-grade stage and adjacent DJ booth.

Also upstairs is a 75-seat, covered and heated biergarten deck, which can be used year-round.

Downstairs, the main barroom features a broad view of Woodward Avenue and a central, U-shaped mahogany bar with upholstered barrel-backed bar chairs. Tables and high-tops add enough seating to accommodate 215 guests on the main floor. Vintage speakers, updated internally for better sound, hang from the ceiling.

Compared with the hard-edged industrial styling of many new dining and entertainment venues, HopCat has a warmer feel, a softer color palette and a retro '70s vibe — as well as numerous nods to Detroit music and people.

One upstairs wall is covered in reproductions of iconic '70s concert posters designed by nationally known Detroit artist Carl Lundgren, along with photographs of musicians by famous Detroit rock photographer Robert Alford. Behind the Huma bar, part of the body of a 1968 Fleetwood Brougham hangs on a colorful wall painted by Detroit muralist Elmer.

"A lot of my visual design references are influenced by the '70s," said Sellers, who grew up in that era. He designs the restaurants mostly himself and wants them to take on the character of the cities where they're located. "They're all different, and they always will be. I don't want them to feel like they're part of a cookie-cutter chain," he said.

Another part of his homage to the Motor City is outside the building, where the back and side walls are covered by elaborate murals, all painted by Detroit artists.

Sellers opened the first HopCat in his native Grand Rapids in 2008 "and it just took off," he said. It has been named the "No. 3 Beer Bar on Planet Earth" by Beer Advocate Magazine; "No. 2 Beer Bar in America" by www.CraftBeer.com and "No. 1 Brewpub in the United States" by www.RateBeer.com.

Sellers opened an East Lansing HopCat last year and another in Indianapolis this year; he'll open in Ann Arbor in January and in Madison, Wis., next June.

He chose the name HopCat to reflect his twin passions of music and beer — although many of his younger employees didn't get the reference, he says. It's a play on "hep cat" — slang for a cool jazz musician in the '40s and '50s — combined with "hop" from the hops used in making beer.

A jazz pianist who played with bands in Los Angeles, Chicago and toured internationally, Sellers said he switched careers after deciding that his strength was in the business end of music, rather than in performing. So he moved home to Grand Rapids, got a degree in business and decided to open a bar because he felt he knew how to build a good one after performing in many of them.

One important element of HopCat's success is its creative food, served in very generous portions. Its huge burgers and sandwiches are priced mostly around $10, and its beer-battered, seasoned Crack Fries — "They're really that addictive," the menu says — are $3.95 or $15 per pound.

Company officials aren't sure how many of the popular fries they'll have to cook to meet demand Saturday, when they're free to all comers, but it could be "thousands of pounds," says HopCat marketing director Chris Knape. "It depends on how many people show up. But we're well-stocked ... and we'll have enough for everyone."

HopCat is at 4265 Woodward, at Canfield; 313-769-8828 and www.hopcat.com.

Contact Sylvia Rector: 313-222-5026 and srector@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @SylviaRector.

Saturday's grand opening

HopCat's doors open at 11 a.m. Saturday for its first day of business and its record-setting tap takeover, featuring 120 different beers made by Shorts Brewing Co. of Bellaire.

The timing is no accident: It's at 11 on 12/13/14.

The bar's entertainment venue — the Huma Room upstairs — opens at 9 p.m. with a free concert by the Pitchblak Brass Band from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Detroit's own Howling Diablos.

The first 200 people in line Saturday morning will receive a card good for one free order of HopCat's Crack Fries every week for a year, and everyone who attends that day will receive a free order.

The fries, a HopCat signature, are beer-battered, fried and sprinkled with a secret blend of spices. "They're really that addictive," the menu says.

Company officials say they expect the line to begin forming before 10 a.m. Saturday.