Merger & Expansion!
StreetCar Partners, LLC has partnered with New Mission Organics and Michigan Hop Alliance. The entities will be merged and retain the name Michigan Hop Alliance under the StreetCar umbrella of companies.
Brian and Amy Tennis founded New Mission Organics in 2005 and were among the first hop farmers in Michigan, planting their first acre on the Leelanau Peninsula in 2008. They have since grown to become a leader in innovative hop production in the Midwest with more than 20 hop varieties in production, including several being grown for the first time on a commercial scale in North America.
The Tennis’s formed the Michigan Hop Alliance in 2010 to process their own hops, as well as hops from farms across northern Michigan. They have assisted dozens of hop farm startups as the Michigan hop industry has grown—sharing knowledge, equipment, and facilities. Both ventures will continue and expand operations under the new Michigan Hop Alliance tag at the Omena farm location. Brian Tennis will assume the role of President and Director of Marketing for Michigan Hop Alliance (MHA) going forward.
“Amy and I could not be happier to announce this new venture with StreetCar and begin a new chapter in our lives,” said Brian Tennis. “With our new partners we will be able to grow and innovate much more rapidly and reach brewers and farmers not only all over Michigan but across North America and service our International clients more effectively.”
The new partnership will allow for an increase in hop production—featuring even more varieties, expanded hop processing capabilities, and an expanded greenhouse operation that will supply clean hop plants for MHA and fellow hop farmers. In addition to the new partnership with StreetCar, MHA has agreed to become the exclusive distributor for the hop farming and processing group Old Mission Hop Exchange of nearby Grand Traverse County.
“We are excited to partner with Michigan Hop Alliance, one of the premier hop operations in the Midwest,” said Mike Collins of StreetCar. “We believe there is tremendous room for growth in Michigan’s hop industry. Michigan craft beer is booming and it’s only natural in a state as agriculturally-diverse as Michigan that a local hop industry should develop to help support it.”
