A Holland Favorite, Then and Now
Some restaurants serve a meal. Others collect stories. Since Jim and Sharon Diesing first opened 84 East in 1993, this corner of downtown Holland has been a place where generations have gathered, celebrated, lingered, and come back again. In 2026, Hops entered its next chapter when the restaurant was sold to Bob and Tessa Repp, carrying forward a long-standing Holland tradition with fresh energy, deep local roots, and plenty of personality.
At Hops, we’re committed to all things craft. That starts behind the bar, where you’ll find an award-winning craft beer list featuring 60 taps from Michigan’s great beer scene and beyond. But we’re not just about great beer. We also have our own specialty cocktails, offer an extensive scotch and bourbon selection, and pour wine by the glass from one of the area’s first wine-on-tap systems.
The same care goes into the kitchen. Chef Bob Repp and his team take pride in a chef-driven, seasonal menu built around fresh ingredients, local farms, and the kind of food people actually crave. We’re proud to support local favorites like de Boer Bakery, Visser Family Farm, Curnick Farms, Heffron Farms, the Holland Farmers Market, and many more. From one-of-a-kind sandwiches and fresh salads to appetizers, seafood, brick oven pizza, and farm-to-table entrées, our menu is rooted in what’s fresh, local, and worth coming back for.
And then there’s the space itself.
Hops isn’t just a restaurant, it’s a piece of Holland’s history. Working with local designer Dirk Nykamp, the restaurant was created to feel warm, inviting, and deeply connected to the community around it. The curved bar at the heart of Hops was built using materials gathered from Holland and the surrounding area. Oak veneers from the former E.E. Fell Middle School, built on River Avenue in 1919, now live on in the bar’s fascia. Brass kick-plates and door handles from the school were transformed into wall lighting, and some of our chalkboards once hung in old classrooms, meaning a few of our longtime guests may have written on them long before they ordered a drink here.
You’ll also find pieces of Holland’s world-famous Heinz Factory throughout the restaurant. The curved bar rail was made from hardwood sleepers that supported pickle-vinegar tanks for 80 years, while the light-colored wood behind the bar came from the tanks themselves. Some of the distinctive light fixtures near the entrance were made from 50-year-old chicken brooders salvaged from Michigan barns, while others were inspired by the pipes of church organs. In the annex, pine, ash, fir, and maple from downtown Holland buildings give the room its character, and reclaimed bleacher boards from a high school gym in Schoolcraft now frame the north-end windows.
Every board, fixture, tap, and table has a story. That’s what makes Hops more than a place to eat and drink. It’s where Holland’s past, present, and future all pull up a chair together.