Griffin Claw Brewing Co. files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, business operations not affected

Co-owner Scott LePage says the filing will not affect business operations or any employees at Griffin Claw Brewing Co., which has restaurants and taprooms in Birmingham and Rochester. The bankruptcy case will allow Griffin Claw to continue with business as usual and preserve jobs, he says.

“Nothing’s changing. We’re open, the patios are busy and we’re ready for a good Friday night,” he said, adding that employees and vendors are all getting paid. “It’s an ownership disagreement.”

LePage’s father Norman LePage started Griffin Claw Brewing Company with partner Ray Nicholson in 2011. Following Nicholson’s death in 2019, a dispute began between the LePage family and Nicholson’s heirs. According to the LePage family, both sides can’t agree on who is owed what stemming from the 2019 sale of Clubhouse BFD in Rochester to the Griffin Claw Brewing Company. Clubhouse BFD in Rochester Hills is now branded as Griffin Claw Brewing Company.