When Mark Kocol opened One Trick Pony in 2012 in Lansing, he kept his goals realistic.
“I literally thought: Stay open for one year,” Kocol said.
Mission accomplished and more. One Trick Pony has endured for more than a decade.
But Kocol recently announced Sept. 1 will be “last call” at the brewery and taproom at 17851 Chappel Ave., the location it has called home for 10 of those years.
While plans have been in the works for the brewery to move to a larger and fully air-conditioned space in downtown Lansing, a mutual agreement between One Trick Pony and its landlord will see the existing space shut down at the beginning of September. That means the transition won’t be as seamless as Kocol hoped.
“I’m still eager to move downtown,” he said. “It’s just not ready yet for me to move into.”
Kocol said there are some short-term possibilities on the table for the brewery, but with nothing solidified he is saying “see you later” to customers and focusing on his remaining time at Chappel Avenue. That means booking some musical acts, offering commemorative merchandise and brewing plenty of beer — including some throwbacks.
“We want to have a big party leaving this space, because this has been home for — we just passed our 10-year anniversary year in late May,” Kocol said. “We’re trying to make it celebratory, rather than somber.”
Kocol is trying to squeeze in what he can to make customers happy before closing the doors. One Trick Pony’s monthlong sendoff in August includes music on the corner stage under the wall of growlers the brewery has amassed over the years, and possibly more “circuses” to be announced via the brewery’s Facebook page.
Among the special brews in the lineup are some high-gravity favorites and a hoppy wheat called Hanoverian that was part of the One Trick Pony’s opening night tap list. The latter hasn’t been brewed since 2013 and has been slightly retooled for 2024, notably with some hop varieties not common a decade ago.
“It’s fun going back through brewing notes from 2013,” Kocol said. “It’s been 11 years, so there’s obviously going to be a couple of tweaks here and there, some things reimagined that I hadn’t expected to reimagine. It was cool to see the evolution of beers.”
Kocol is also spending down some things in One Trick Pony’s reserves that were earmarked for longer-term projects he had envisioned.
“This has hastened their need to move, hastened some of the plans I had for later in the year,” he said. “There are some interesting things that are going to be hitting the tap throughout the month.”
Since announcing the closure on Chappel Avenue, there has been an outpouring of support. Regulars and old faces have returned to say farewell and enjoy another pint. Messages have flooded One Trick Pony’s Facebook feed as well as the chalkboard in the taproom bathroom.
“The vibe around here has been very positive and very supportive,” Kocol said. “It’s been a welcome sight to see folks I haven’t seen in a while. Some folks are traveling from out of town to come see us.”
Kocol and his wife found a new home for one longtime brewery cat, Tuxie, giving her a sendoff party including cake and collecting donations for the shelter where they got her. They plan to take the other cat home with them.
“The cats will be OK,” Kocol said.
One Trick Pony originally opened just down the street from where it is now, in a building without air conditioning, and cost “next to nothing,” as Kocol described it. The brewery quickly saw some success, though not in the ways Kocol expected.
“It was cool the first couple of years, when it was kind of a Wild West-type thing,” he said. “I couldn’t keep up with people’s demands in the taproom. I thought we’d be sending out 90% of the product and it flip-flopped. I wasn’t expecting that.”
In 2014, One Trick Pony moved to its existing space.
“It did become a real business,” Kocol said. “Once that happens, you’re focused day to day on business and it’s a different challenge.”
When it comes to challenges, the brewery has faced a shifting craft beer landscape, pandemic and inflation, all of which have led to people to make different choices about where they spend money.
In Kocol’s view, changes in recent years have seen the craft beer market once again favor brewpubs over standalone taprooms. His plans for a downtown space reflect that, in addition to bringing an increase in foot traffic.
“Without food, there’s certain folks you can’t attract or you’re going to have major challenges attracting — families,” Kocol said. “When you’ve got a pub, mom and dad can take their kids out to eat, so you’ve got sales that way.”
The village has been supportive of the brewery’s redevelopment plans, Kocol said.
“As the project has needed to evolve, they have bent over backwards,” he said.
While One Trick Pony’s future may include some unknowns, Kocol wants to keep the brand in the marketplace for a while. And he’s been doing a marathon of brew days to ensure that it will be.
“There’s quite a bit of beer that’s been brewed and stockpiled,” Kocol said.
After the barrage of brewing is done, Kocol plans to take a deep breath, assess where One Trick Pony is at and figure out what comes next. His hope is to be able to raise a glass again with his customers at a new location.
“I’d love to see this place still kicking in five years, someplace, producing more and more beer,” Kocol said. “We just can’t do it here.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
