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July 28, 2025
FOND DU LAC – “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.”
Those are the words of Michael Leb, CEO of the newly opened Fond du Lac Beer Company at 21 4th St. Court in the City of Fond du Lac.
“It’s been a long time coming, but for the first time in more than 80 years, Fond du Lac is again home to a brewery,” Leb said. “This has been a long process, so it’s great to see it finally come to fruition.”
Leb said he has been invested in Fond du Lac since 2015 – serving on boards, being active within the city and working with various organizations.
“Every year, I kept hearing people say, ‘How come Fond du Lac doesn’t have a brewery? We haven’t had one since 1938,’” he said. “It was always a big mystery. Every time the city would conduct surveys or ask for input on what the public wants, a brewery was always the No. 1 response.”
That’s when Leb said he coined the phrase: “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.”
“I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I just try to open one?’” he said. “So, I started searching for a partner/brewer, because I don’t know how to make beer. I’m more involved in the business/development side of things. I just couldn’t find the right person.”
Leb said that was the case until he met Lyle Hari.
“When I met Lyle, I immediately knew he was the guy to do this with me,” he said. “Lyle is my business partner, the head brewer and the co-owner. He’s originally from Fond du Lac but moved around the United States – Florida, Colorado – running some breweries and brewing beer.”
Leb said it has always been Hari’s dream to move back to Fond du Lac and open a brewery.
“He went to our local chamber, Envision [Greater Fond du Lac], and they said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to go talk to Mike Leb because he’s been trying to open a brewery here in town for the last five years,’” he said.
As like many other brewers, Leb said Hari got his start in the industry as a homebrewer.
“Then he started doing it professionally and really learned his craft,” he said. “His beers have won awards at other breweries. When he and I hooked up, we were finally able to pull this off. I’m all business and marketing, and Lyle is the artist – he makes amazing beer.”
Leb said the brewery currently has seven different brews available.
“By far, our Blonde Ale is our most popular beer,” he said. “We went through an entire batch in a week and a half, which is seven barrels. We’ve been brewing a bunch more of that.”
According to the brewery’s website (fdlbeercompany.com), other popular brews include Hodgepodge, Archee Amber, Pioneer Pilsner and Mo’ Citra Pale Ale.
No longer on the map, but in a good way
Leb said after Fond du Lac Brewing Company opened its doors June 21, it was no longer the largest city in Wisconsin without a brewery.
“Waupun (population 11,344) just opened a brewery, and Oshkosh has a bunch,” he said. “As a matter of fact, we were one of the largest cities in the country without a brewery. For a city of our size not to have a brewery for that long, it’s mind-blowing, so this is a big deal. Now we have one, and it’s fantastic.”
Leb said if the first month-plus is any indication, Fond du Lac Beer Company is filling a previous void in the city.
“We have been absolutely swamped,” he said. “Every day we’ve been open, it’s been fantastic – better than I could have ever imagined. I got into this project not for me but for the City of Fond du Lac. We’ve done this for the people of Fond du Lac. We’ve literally had generations of people waiting for a brewery in this town.”
Leb said that’s one of the reasons he wanted to include the city in the name of the brewery.
“I didn’t want to have some funky name,” he said. “I wanted every Fond du Lac [citizen] to say, ‘Hey, this is our place, and we finally have our own brewery.’”
Leb said that brewery pride has gone beyond people simply coming into the new establishment.
“People have been buying all the apparel, the hats, the hoodies, the T-shirts, etc.,” he said. “We’ve been sending T-shirts all over the country from our online store. I’m assuming most of the people are former Fond du Lac residents who now live in Arizona, California, etc., who want to have some [merchandise] from their hometown brewery.”
Since beginning Fond du Lac Beer Company, Leb said he is amazed at how many people plan their vacations around breweries.
“I make it a point to go around and thank people for coming in and asking where they’re from,” he said. “Yes, this is great for Fond du Lac – the people have waited for a long time for a brewery – but half the people I talk to are from out of town. They’re from Milwaukee, Green Bay, Appleton, etc., which is fantastic, because a brewery is really a tourism business model.”
Breathing life into an old building
Leb said the brewery is housed in a “very old building” he has owned since 2016.
He said a lot of work went into making it a functioning brewery.
“We affectionately call the space ‘the old Blakely Auto Parts building,’” he said. “The Blakely family owned it for many years, and I bought the building from Trace Blakely in 2016. Since then, I had rented the entire building out to auto parts businesses. The section where the brewery is currently located was just storage for me.”
Leb said when he took over ownership of the building, it was a dark, empty space with no windows.
“It also had broken concrete floors and smelled like motor oil – just like an old factory storage facility,” he said. “I always felt it could be something more than that, so when this all came about, Lyle and I looked at that space and said, ‘Yes, absolutely, this is the place to put the brewery – it could be a great vibe.’”
The original building had a freight elevator, which Leb said has been “very useful” thus far.
“It has an upstairs, a downstairs and a gigantic outdoor beer garden where up to a thousand people can mingle or watch concerts,” he said. “We took the factory look from the early 1900s and reopened all the original window openings that had been cinder-blocked in. It’s got new concrete floors – I think it’s absolutely gorgeous.”
The upstairs portion of the building, Leb said, can seat 220 guests for weddings or other get-togethers.
“The building was pretty much a total gut job,” he said. “It was a Model T dealership back in the early 1900s.”
Leb said renovations on the building began in February 2024.
“The taproom has seating for about 60, and obviously, a lot of standing room,” he said. “All of our bars upstairs and downstairs have concrete tops poured in place. We also have a full kitchen – we’re known for our smash burgers and appetizers. Currently, we have a more limited launch menu, but that will expand as time goes on.”
Leb said Fond du Lac Beer Company also has a liquor license, so spirits can be served.
“We also try to get music in here weekly,” he said. “We have a small stage in the taproom, and then we plan to do music upstairs. We’ve already done a couple of concerts outside in the beer garden. I’m in the process of designing and building a permanent outdoor stage for that space.”
Leb said the upstairs space has also hosted yoga classes.
“That’s been very popular,” he said. “A yoga studio came in, along with about 60-70 people for the class. They had live music playing and did yoga for about an hour. After the class, everybody came down and had a couple of beers. That’s something we plan to continue.”
Using his platform
Leb said now that the brewery is up and running, he is excited to use his platform as a small business owner to give back to the community.
He said one recent example was the Pups and Purrs for Pints event.
“We donated money from our sales to Sandi Paws Rescue [out of Fond du Lac],” Leb said. “I’m very involved with a lot of the nonprofits throughout Fond du Lac, so we brought in Sandi Paws and did a pet adoption fundraiser in our beer garden.”
A special guest
Leb said a special guest – with Fond du Lac ties – recently visited the brewery for a tour.
He said Caleb Durbin, a third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, stopped by while in town for an event.
“Caleb played for the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders [in the Northwoods League],” he said. “We’re big sponsors of the Dock Spiders and have watch parties for their games.”
Leb said Durbin’s host mom – when he played in Fond du Lac – is one of the brewery’s beer tenders.
“Caleb came back to town for an event, and his host mom let him know about Fond du Lac Beer Company,” he said. “He came over, we gave him a tour and he signed some autographs for my son and took a bunch of pictures with us. He even messaged us on our opening day, wishing us good luck. He’s a really good kid.”
Fond du Lac Beer Company is open from 3-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
