Jim and Kathy Sullivan keep flashing smiles across the table at each other along with prideful glances as if they have some giant secret they are keeping. Yet their giant secret isn’t a secret at all – it’s big news in Plymouth and they are more than happy to share their enthusiasm about a dream come true for the local husband and wife team.

“We always wanted to own and run our own bar,” said Kathy, looking at Jim with a smile. “We would always talk about what we would do if we owned a bar and how we would want to run it. Whenever we traveled, we would go to local bars and see if they were doing anything we liked that we could do when the time came. We even had pages of names written down that we thought would be good names.”

The one name that stuck was DownTown Pourhouse Tavern.

“It came out of those brainstorming sessions and was in the book,” Jim said. “We had a couple other names we liked too, but when we talked it over with our marketing people this was the name everyone liked.”

Jim is quite familiar with Stella’s – he was a business partner of owner Bob Ostendorf for 13 years. A longtime CPA with ATS Advisors in Plymouth, Jim was responsible for the financial side of the business for over a decade. Ostendorf bought Doyle's Tavern in 2013 and renamed it Stella’s Black Dog Tavern, and the two helped turn the establishment into a Plymouth gem.

“My role was always accounting and finance,” Jim said. “Bob made all the decisions, I was just supporting him from a financial standpoint.”

After 13 years running the tavern, Bob decided to retire and transferred the business in full over to Jim and Kathy on January 1. The dream finally came true.

“We are very excited to take over and handle all the day-to-day stuff and take it in a new direction,” said Jim, who grew up in Plymouth. “We want to give it a new look and a new brand.”

Renovations inside the tavern have already begun, including installing new TV sets that offer great views of the game – whatever the game is that day or night.

“We want to be the place where people go to watch a game with the sound up,” Kathy said. “We want this to be a gathering place.”

DownTown Pourhouse Tavern serves up juicy burgers, loaded sandwiches, the “best pizza in town,” hearty pub grub and great Happy Hour specials.

The Sullivans are very happy that most of their “great staff” is staying in the fold, including Cardale Houston, who has been the chef there for 10 years.

“All of our food is fresh,” Houston said. “We do simple seasoning and leave it to the customer to add their own condiments because that’s how they like it. We cook everything to order and that’s what keeps it natural. The menu will change seasonally but everyone’s favorites will still be here.”

The Sullivans are also community minded, and supportive of other restaurants in the area.

“We want to make sure people know that we want to be involved in the community and be a part of the community,” Jim said. “We will be involved in all the community events and activities. And we aren’t competing with other restaurants and bars in Plymouth. We all complement each other and support each other.”

DownTown Pourhouse Tavern is located at 860 Fralick Avenue. Call (734) 207-9656 or visit www.dtpourhouse.com for more information.