Eastern Kille Distillery, established in 2014, broke ground on a new headquarters, production facility, bar and restaurant in a suburb just north of Grand Rapids, Mich. at 7755 Childsdale Ave. NE in Rockford, Mich.

The new site includes 3,980 square feet for the restaurant and 7,970 square feet for the distillery. The project is slated to cost $4.2 million and the distillery anticipates creating 15 new jobs.

“It’s exciting to watch the plans come to life,” said Steve Vander Pol, co-owner of Eastern Kille Distillery, in a news release. “This facility allows us to nearly triple production and continue to expand and age our award-winning barrel portfolio. We remain committed to produce and age all whiskey on site from grain, never sourcing our whiskey.”

Eastern Kille produces a wide range of spirits but focuses primarily on bourbon and rye whiskey. Leading sales for the distillery are their Michigan Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Michigan Straight Rye Whiskey.

The new distillery is set on 16 wooded acres intended to highlight the natural settings impact on whiskey production and will feature a full kitchen and extensive cocktail garden in the woods.

“The kitchen and customer experience space features incredible views into the natural setting and draws inspiration from Japanese and modern Scandinavian architecture,” said Vander Pol.

The distillery property is bordered by the White Pine Trail, a 92-mile hiking and biking trail, and features a path through the woods connecting the trail to the outdoor cocktail garden offering customers a way to reach the distillery and interact with the local environment.

The groundbreaking comes on the heels of the Sept. 1, 2022 opening of their newest tasting room on Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids. Their current production facility and tasting room located at 700 Ottawa in downtown Grand Rapids was sold but will be open to the public and operating through September 30, 2023.

“This expansion marks another milestone in the growth of Eastern Kille,” Vander Pol said. “We plan to continue our investment in West Michigan to meet the growing demand of our customer base here. across Michigan and beyond.”

Founded in 2014, Eastern Kille Distillery creates a variety of craft spirits and cocktails distilled and aged in small batches. They currently operate the distillery and bar at 800 Ottawa Ave. and tasting room at 634 Wealthy St.

For more information, visit https://easternkille.com/.