Buckley’s Mountainside Canoes is set to get a makeover and appear on national TV.
The Mt. Pleasant-based business recently announced on its Facebook page that renovations will begin this month for Animal Planet‘s show Restoration Wild.
“Restoration Wild is a nature build series that captures the mind-blowing magic of Treehouse Masters. The series follows visionary wild man Jay Chaikin and his crew of expert builders and designers as they identify and repurpose the coolest vintage structures and relics left abandoned in the landscape,” stated an Animal Planet press release.
Buckley’s co-owner Bob Busch said he’s excited to be on the show and thinks the renovations and exposure will not only bring more people to his business, but also to the mid-Michigan area.
“I think when it’s all said and done, we’re going to have one of the premier canoeing destinations in the Midwest, he said.
“It’s going to be a bridge between Grand Rapids and Mt. Pleasant by bringing people to this part of the state and utilizing the natural beauty that is found here.”
Design details are mostly secret, but Busch said he and his wife Liz, who is also a co-owner, have had some say in the project.
“There are certainly parameters that we’re giving,” he said. “It is going to be kind of like an extreme makeover situation but we can tell them we want a canoe and brew.”
The brewery aspect has been in the works for awhile, Busch said, and getting the proper licensing is still about a year away.
However, appearing on Restoration Wild has presented Buckley’s with an opportunity to get brewing equipment before they can legally sell alcohol.
“We’re literally putting the cart before the horse in this situation,” Busch said.
Although becoming a fully operational brewery is not in the immediate future, customers will be the first to benefit from the upgrades.
The new improvements will give people a place where they can get off the river and relax, Busch said.
“It’s still going to be the same great river and the same great people,” he said. “Frankly, for customers, its going to mean better boats and service for everyone.”
The episode featuring Buckley’s is set to appear in December with construction obviously finishing well before that.
Until it is completed, those hoping to enjoy Buckley’s will be able to do so by reservation only during the weekdays.
Busch said they are going to try to be open and run operations as normal as possible even if that means running business out of the parking lot.
Meanwhile, the landing will continue to be available to customers.
“It’s going to be completely abnormal because at some point I’ll probably not even be able to go into the building,” Busch said.
Despite the chaos, Buckley’s owners are confident the end result will be well worth it and look forward to being an even bigger piece of the cog to the tourism in central Michigan.
“We’re going to have one of the classiest canoe breweries in the state,” Busch said. “We will be able to highlight the beautiful river and share craft beer and canoeing.”
