Canton couple fired up to open state’s 1st Voodoo Brewing Co. in hometown
Carla Perez-Turner and Jason Turner stand next to the taps that will deliver an assortment of craft beers to their clientele.
The years of anxiously waiting to open their own restaurant/bar pub business has dwindled down to just a few days.
And lifelong Canton residents Jason Turner and Carla Perez-Turner’s adrenaline rush is growing with each sunrise and sunset.
“We’ve wanted to open a restaurant/bar for the longest time,” said Perez-Turner, a human resources professional for Bosch Engineering. “We didn’t want to wake up one day when we were 80 and say, ‘Gosh, I wish we would have tried opening a place’.”
Impressed by Voodoo’s culture
After researching multiple franchises expanding in southeast Michigan, the couple was pleasantly overwhelmed by the Voodoo Brewing Co. restaurant/bar pub brand once they spent a few days at Voodoo’s national headquarters in Pennsylvania.
“Once we found Voodoo, everything came together,” said Jason Turner. “Their business model is exactly what we were looking for. We wanted a business whose culture was, I guess you could say, salt of the earth.”
After spending a few days during a potential-franchisee Discovery Days event in Erie, Pa., the Canton couple were just two of the 10 franchisee prospects given the green light to open a location.
Following close to one year of searching for a site, they chose 5800 N. Sheldon in Canton — the former site of a Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ location.
Voodoo’s grand opening is set for Saturday, June 27.
Happy to open in hometown
“We’re ecstatic that we were able to find property in Canton to launch our dream,” Jason Turner said. “We really want to be engaged in our community. We’re already planning community-outreach events — like first-responders night, things like that — where we can give back.
“We’ll have trivia nights, watch parties for big Detroit sporting events … and we’re open to ideas from our customers.”
The couple, both of whom attended Plymouth-Canton schools, said they love the location, which was found for them by their Realtor, Rose Laing.
“It’s not exactly on Ford Road,” Turner said, “but there is a steady flow of traffic on the road just to the south of us that runs all the way from Sheldon to Morton Taylor. We’re hoping that people who haven’t heard about us drive by and say, ‘That place looks cool. Let’s give it a try.'”
Paradise for the senses
Voodoo will be equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system and multiple 100-inch televisions.
“We’ve already met with the owners of School of Rock (which occupies the space just to the north of Voodoo) and we’re going to have some of their bands provide live music on select nights,” Perez-Turner said.
“School of Rock has partnered with a guitar player for Alice Cooper who has organized a fundraiser for underprivileged kids who want to learn how to play an instrument, so we’re going to help with that.”
Amazing menu
Voodoo’s vast menu includes everything from pub pretzels to mouth-watering burgers that are seasoned just right.
And, yes, there will be several gluten-free options on the menu.
The beer, cocktails, seltzers and wine selection has something for everyone — including non-alcoholic options.
They thought of everything
The owners have dedicated a space near the front of the store for Voodoo merchandise, including two- and four-packs of its brightly-color cans of beer.
They’ve also installed two sets of natural-light-adding windows on the south side of the space — and a garage door that can be opened to allow for ideal indoor-outdoor dining experiences.
Voodoo’s hours of operations will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
“Although, trust us, if there’s a Lions game on a Sunday night that runs past 10 p.m., we’ll stay open until the game is over,” Jason Turner assured with a smile.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
