Grand Rapids bar owner brews success with a passion for beer

[Andrew Clarkson]

GRAND RAPIDS -- What do Ayn Rand, Warren Buffett, the Titanic, rock bands, a hedge fund and Michigan craft beer have in common?

All are intertwined with the splendidly erratic career of Mark Sellers.

At age 43, with Sellers presumably only midway through life's journey, more plot twists undoubtedly lie ahead -- but let us begin with the present day, then flash back through the zigs and zags from Michigan to Boston, L.A. and Chicago before returning to his hometown.

Sellers is on the verge of announcing that his newest project, the Grand Rapids Brewing Co., will be Michigan's first all-organic brewery when it opens in August.

He and his wife are already key players in the downtown Grand Rapids bar and restaurant scene, by virtue of opening the HopCat beer bar in 2008, followed two years later by Stella's Lounge and the adjacent Viceroy speakeasy-style joint a block away.

Read more; http://www.freep.com/article/20120521/C ... n-for-beer