51st State Brewery — named for if the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin had seceded and formed a 51st state — has for the past six years offered signature beers and award-winning pizza.

Owner Jeff Brickey said demand for 51st State Brewing Co. beer has outgrown the facilities at their Harding Avenue location.

So Brickey recently moved brewing operations to a building on Knutsen Drive he had originally purchased for warehouse space. With that came a new brewing system and increased production capabilities.

Moving the brewing away from Harding Avenue meant there was now unused space that would need a purpose.

51st State Brewing Co. at 115 Harding Ave. in Kingsford. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

“The city would not allow me to add more tables; I do not have enough parking,” Brickey said. “We were looking at what we could do with the space and basically I said we open at 4 p.m. and close at 8 to10 p.m., depending on the time of the year and the rest of the time it is dark in here — can we do something that is a little different in the morning?”

Brickey said he is unsure whether he or his wife, Victoria, came up with the idea. Brickey thought the idea of a bagelry would go over well, as the nearest such business is in Marquette.

Converting the area that formerly held the brewing equipment into a kitchen for baking involved remodeling, with new wiring and plumbing to handle the new kitchen equipment.

With the new kitchen and bagel operations came the need for new staff. Brickey was happy to add another family member, future daughter-in-law Mary Bianga, who attended culinary school and has taken over the baking operations.

Making 51st State Brewing Co.’s sourdough bagels requires a three-day fermentation process, so even though they are closed on Mondays, baking continues seven days a week. Brickey stresses that the bagels are all-natural, containing no preservatives and no bromated or bleached flour.

“We have great pizzas here and we just carried on the tradition: high-quality ingredients, everything made from scratch and no preservatives,” Brickey said.

51st Brewing Co. offers several varieties of bagels, from plain, everything, salt, asiago and jalapeno cheddar to sweeter varieties such as chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar. Brickey said that they are currently testing out recipes for blueberry bagels and hope to have that nailed down soon. Other types of bagels are expected to be added in the future.

Even the cream cheese for the bagels is made in house from scratch. Varieties include garden veggie, scallion, herb garlic, maple bacon, blueberry and French toast. Weekly specials are in the works.

Customers can also enjoy breakfast and lunch bagels, along with a variety of coffee drinks. Bagels can be taken to go or enjoyed in the dining room and soon on the patio.

Brickey said that the response to the bagelry has exceeded all expectations, with the sweeter types being among the most popular selections. 51st State Brewing Co. recently began offering large orders to local businesses as well.

Demand has been so overwhelming that Brickey reports they have already outgrown the new kitchen and starting next week will move baking operations to the Knutsen Drive location.

On the brewery side of the business, 51st State Brewing Co. will soon begin distributing its beer to businesses in Escanaba, Gladstone, Marquette and parts of Wisconsin, with plans to begin canning it next year.

51st State Brewing Co. is at 115 Harding Ave. in Kingsford. Bagels are available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 7 to 11 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays.

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The Daily News plans to highlight some of the new businesses in the region. Know of one that recently opened or changed hands? Contact Jim Paul at 906-774-2772, ext. 229, or jpaul@ironmountaindailynews.com.