734 Brewing Is Ypsilanti, Poured Into a Glass
On Cross Street, a taproom built by Ypsi graduates brews beer that belongs to this city.
The name tells you everything you need to know. 734 is the area code. It's the three digits that show up on your phone when someone from Ypsilanti is calling. It's the number on the bumper stickers, the tattoos, the casual shorthand locals use when they don't feel like explaining which side of the Huron they live on. When the founders of 734 Brewing Company named their brewery, they weren't reaching for something clever. They were stating a fact about where they come from.
734 Brewing sits at 15 East Cross Street in Depot Town, on the same block as Sidetrack and MAIZ, in the corridor that forms the spine of Ypsilanti's food and drink identity. I've ended up at 734 after dinner at MAIZ more times than I can count, and the walk across the street with a full stomach and a pint waiting is one of the better routines in the county. The founders are Ypsilanti High School graduates who came back to build something in the city that raised them. That origin story matters here. Ypsi has a long memory, and it knows the difference between people who invest in the city and people who just rent space in it.
The Taproom
Walk in and the room reads like what it is: a neighborhood brewery that doesn't need to impress you with exposed ductwork and reclaimed barnwood. The taproom is straightforward. A bar, some tables, enough room to move around without bumping into strangers. It feels like a place where people know each other, because they do.
The tap list rotates, and that's part of the draw. Ales, lagers, hard seltzers, and house-distilled spirits all come through the lineup. The Ypsi Blonde is the approachable entry point, a clean, light ale that doesn't ask much of you and delivers exactly what it promises. It's the beer you order for someone who says they don't like craft beer. The 734 IPA leans into hops without going bitter enough to clear the room. Good balance, good body, the kind of IPA that respects the style without making it a personality test.
Seasonal and experimental batches rotate through. The brewery treats its tap list like a conversation, not a permanent menu. Something new shows up, regulars try it, feedback happens in real time. It's a small-batch advantage that bigger breweries can't replicate.
No Kitchen, No Problem
734 doesn't have a kitchen, and that's a deliberate choice. Food trucks park outside on a rotating schedule, and you're welcome to bring your own food from anywhere on the block. Order tacos from MAIZ, walk them across the street, and wash them down with a fresh pint. Grab a burger from Sidetrack and carry it over. The Cross Street corridor makes this work because everything is within a two-minute walk.
This model keeps the brewery focused on what it does well and turns the lack of a kitchen into an asset. You end up eating from the best restaurant on the block while drinking beer that was brewed 50 feet from your seat. It's a better arrangement than most brewpubs manage.
Cross Street's Role
Cross Street in Depot Town is having its moment, and 734 is part of the reason. Sidetrack has been there since 1980. MAIZ draws crowds for scratch-made tacos. Aubree's holds down the pizza-and-beer corner. 734 added a brewery to a block that already had the food, and the combination turned a good stretch of restaurants into a destination corridor.
On a Friday evening, the foot traffic between these places is steady. People start at one spot and end at another. 734 benefits from that flow and contributes to it. The taproom functions as a gathering point, the place you meet before dinner or land after it. In a city that values its local businesses with a ferocity that borders on civic religion, 734 fits because it was built by people who share that value.
Ypsi, Brewed
There's a particular kind of pride that runs through Ypsilanti's independent businesses. It's not the same as Ann Arbor's. Ann Arbor's food scene has the Zingerman's model, the James Beard nominations, the national press. Ypsilanti's identity is scrappier, more personal, more interested in whether you grew up here than whether you got a write-up in Bon Appetit.
734 Brewing runs on that energy. The name on the building is the area code. The founders went to high school down the road. The beer is brewed in the same Depot Town corridor where the city's food identity lives. None of this is accidental, and none of it needs to be dressed up.
If you're in Ypsi and you drink beer, 734 is the stop. Bring food, grab a pint, sit down. The rest of the evening will take care of itself.
734 Brewing Company is at 15 E Cross St, Ypsilanti. No kitchen; food trucks rotate outside, and you're welcome to bring food from nearby restaurants. Check their social media for current tap lists and events.