Case Study

A Culinary & Entertainment Destination in Detroit

More than just a restaurant, Corktown Taphouse blends top-tier dining with interactive entertainment. Featuring two independently owned kitchens—1834 Kitchen and Bella Forno, a from scratch brick pizza kitchen.—guests can enjoy everything from gourmet comfort food to authentic Mexican flavors.

Designed for all ages, the space offers duckpin bowling, AR dart lanes, and an interactive game wall, making it a go-to spot for families, young professionals, and casual diners. Located in the heart of Corktown, with largest self pour tap wall in Michigan with 76+ taps, it delivers a welcoming, high-energy atmosphere where great food meets unforgettable experiences.

Partner

Corktown Taphouse

CAUSES

Flavor Innovation & Culinary Creativity

focus

Entertainment and community hub for Detroit bringing great food, drink, and games

Solutions

UX Design
Website Development
Reputation Management
Local SEO
Creative Direction
Google Ads

UX Design & Website Development for Corktown Taphouse

Planning & Design

We developed a strategic site structure that balanced aesthetics with seamless navigation, ensuring an inviting digital experience. The sitemap included key pages like the Homepage, About, Menu, Events etc. A warm color palette, high-quality imagery, and intuitive layouts created an immersive user experience.

Wire framing & Development

Wireframes mapped out a smooth user journey, guiding visitors effortlessly from discovery to action. The final build was fully responsive, mobile-friendly, and performance-optimized, featuring fast load times, smooth animations, and an intuitive interface.

Home & Menu Page Revamp

The redesigned Home Page became a compelling introduction to the brand, featuring high-impact visuals and clear calls to action. The new Menu Page offered seamless browsing, highlighting Corktown’s signature dishes and drink offerings with an intuitive, engaging layout.

Wire framing & Development

Wireframes mapped out a smooth user journey, guiding visitors effortlessly from discovery to action. The final build was fully responsive, mobile-friendly, and performance-optimized, featuring fast load times, smooth animations, and an intuitive interface.

Excited about your project? Let's Meet!

Reputation Management

Building a Strong Digital Reputation

Understanding the power of customer perception, we implemented a reputation management strategy focused on maintaining a positive online image. Our approach included:

Review Monitoring & Response

Actively tracking reviews across Google, Yelp, and other platforms, responding professionally to feedback, and engaging with customers to foster loyalty.

Proactive Engagement

Encouraging satisfied patrons to share their experiences through automated follow-ups and strategic prompts.

Crisis Management

Quickly addressing negative feedback with thoughtful responses and solutions, ensuring brand credibility remains strong.

Sustained SEO Momentum Backed by Measurable Data

Local SEO To Boost Visibility And Conversions

To establish Corktown Taphouse as a go-to destination, we developed a strategic local SEO campaign, ensuring high visibility in search results. Our Key Focus Areas – 

Google Business Profile Optimization:

We refined the restaurant’s Google listing with compelling descriptions, high-quality images, and accurate business details to increase search visibility.

Local Keyword Targeting & Content Strategy

Extensive research helped us refine search intent and optimize on-site content, metadata, and blog strategy to match the way potential customers search for dining and craft beer experiences.

NAP Consistency & Citations

We optimized Corktown’s Name, Address, and Phone Number across directories and citation sites, reinforcing local search authority.

Localized Content & Blogs

By crafting geo-targeted blog posts and content, we strengthened Corktown’s local relevance and organic reach.

Creative Direction

Brand Storytelling & Visual Identity

We developed a cohesive creative strategy that aligned with Corktown Taphouse’s brand personality. Our focus was on translating its warm, community-driven atmosphere into compelling digital experiences. Key elements included:

Photography & Visual Curation

We directed high-quality photography and video content to capture the essence of Corktown’s ambiance, food, and drinks.

Consistent Brand Messaging

Every touchpoint, from website copy to social media captions, was carefully crafted to reflect Corktown’s inviting and lively character.

Menu & Promotional Design

We designed eye-catching digital menus and promotional materials to enhance engagement and drive customer interest.

Social Media

We developed and executed a social media strategy for Corktown Taphouse to increase reach and drive traffic to the restaurant through Instagram and Facebook. The strategy focused on showcasing the restaurant’s unique offerings, including weekly events, food and drink specials, and its fun, family-friendly atmosphere.

To enhance engagement and expand the restaurant’s local audience, we implemented an influencer marketing strategy by facilitating partnerships with local food reviewers. These influencers visited Corktown, created content, and shared their experiences, helping to increase visibility among Detroit locals. Through a combination of organic content, strategic partnerships, and community engagement, the social media presence of Corktown Taphouse grew, driving more foot traffic and brand awareness.

Paid Media - Google

Google Ads helped boost awareness, foot traffic, and online engagement for Corktown. With targeted campaigns, we positioned it as a must-visit destination, building on its grand opening buzz and keeping the excitement strong.

Over the past eight months, we’ve seen consistent gains in cost efficiency and engagement. Clicks surpassed 45K with over 1.1M impressions, while the average CPC held at $0.55 on a total spend of $25K. This strong balance between reach, cost, and performance highlights the lasting impact of our paid media strategy.

Seasonal campaigns and optimized targeting have allowed Corktown Taphouse to maintain momentum beyond the grand opening.

Related Case Studies

Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation (CDC) is a Detroit-based, faith-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering residents through education, employment programs, and affordable housing initiatives…. Read More

Boyer & Associates is a consulting firm founded in 1994 that specializes in implementing, supporting and optimizing Microsoft-based ERP, CRM and Power Platform solutions for mid-sized businesses and nonprofits…. Read More

The word that comes to mind most often when I think about their team is ‘creative’. So whether it’s a landing page or a keyword or a Google Ad or a piece of collateral that we’ve put together, they’re making sure that all of it is working together and hyper focused on who Boyer is as a company and who are targets are

– Katie Erickson | Marketing Director

Set up a call to talk further about how you can enhance your business by partnering with our team at The Growth Shark.