About Us

The Man Behind The Plaid

Whether it was bottling sub-par beer in his parents kitchen or forcing his wife to park outside through the long winter months because the garage had been consumed with brewing equipment, Matt Therrien has a passion for craft beer. Always experimenting and never scared to take a chance on a beer, he has been a home brewer for almost 20 years honing his craft. Matt is eager to share it with locals and visitors to Lake Ann alike. (Actually, he’d like you to stop by even if you don’t like “homebrew” as you may be surprised.)

The Brewer

Born and raised in Traverse City Michigan, Nick Hall began his stint at Lake Ann Brewing Co. in 2015 behind the bar and is now head brewer.

Nick also operates, Hall’s Greenhouse in Traverse City, alongside his wife and four children – two sets of twins! It takes someone very special to work with Matt in the brewhouse. We are fortunate to have Nick on our team.

Additionally, Nick is fascinated with Greenland. He enjoys teasing animals, Ban-Lon, and seeing people running for their lives. He loves throwing garbage out the window, yet he’s extremely dainty.

The Building

In 1948-1949 Guy Gray built the building that Lake Ann Brewing Co. now resides. It was called the “Snack Shack”. It was a tea house which also sold fishing supplies. Guy sold it to Rallie Raney who ran it for a year or so, after which it went back to Guy. It still kept the same name.

In 1952 Lula and Stanley Beckwith bought the building and called it the “L and S Cafe”. Lula ran the business until 1961 when she was forced to sell the business for health reasons. Minetta and Guy Boice purchased the business. They had living quarters added behind the kitchen area. The restaurant at this time was known as “Minetta’s”. Minetta had the restaurant for about ten years.

It was then sold to Anthony and Ruth Psaris and was called “Mr. P’s”. They owned the business for two or three years. In 1982 Verna Hall bought it and ran it for awhile under the name of “Grandma’s Kitchen”. Her husband Richard ran the lumber mill by Clark’s. They sold it to Nancy Mallion in 1989. She ran it for a short period of time but it was only open for breakfast and lunch. After the Jailhouse Ice Cream Store went out of business, Nancy sold ice cream at one end of the restaurant for a short time. In 1992 Matt Schroeder and his wife purchased the restaurant and called in “The L.A. Cafe”. They changed the interior by removing the counter that had been there for years, and changed the living quarters into area for kitchen equipment. After that Peggy Luna purchased the Cafe in 1999. She did a bustling business and served great food. She sold the business to Ross O’Brien in 2006, who ran it for a short period of time.