Brandon Doriot and Calen Savidge, former co-hosts of “Andrew Z in the Morning: The People’s Show” are bringing their expertise to a new venture — opening their new bar, “The Pour House.” And what is that expertise?

“We know how to party,” Savidge said. “We kind of put a face to the nightlife in Toledo.”

The Pour House is located in what used to be Dooley’s Pub, an Irish bar behind City BBQ on West Central Avenue. Doriot and Savidge are partnering with lawyer Beau Harvey, who owned Dooley’s and helped start Home Slice Pizza.

“It’s a great partnership because they’re really well-connected socially. Calen’s connected musically and the three of us really work well together,” Harvey said.

“We have a lot of experience on the other side of the bar. Now we’re going to try this side,” Savidge said.

After the Andrew Z show ended in December, Doriot and Savidge found themselves looking for a new venture. Doriot said the experience made them “brothers.”

Harvey allowed Doriot and Savidge to host a big party at Dooley’s about two weeks ago to see if they liked running a bar — and they did.

“This is kind of like a comeback story, I guess, because Calen and I got canned so Beau scooped us up and Beau’s bar wasn’t working out,” Doriot said, adding, “People are going to feel a sense of ownership of the bar.”

From left, Beau Harvey, Brandon Doriot and Calen Savidge at The Pour House.

Harvey opened Dooley’s in September, but said, “It’s just time for a concept change. There’s a lot of Irish pubs around,” adding that he thinks people in the area want to go to a venue that values live music.

The new bar will feature live music every night it’s open. Since Savidge is a musician and Doriot is a comedian, they said they know how to treat performers and can guarantee that the artists get paid.

“We know when we have good money to get bigger bands, we’ll have a good rapport with artists,” Doriot said.

Savidge put it simply, “Musicians tend to be loyal to the venues that are loyal to them.”

In addition to the drinks, The Pour House will also have a few basic food items on its menu.

“If the main draw is coming for live music, you’re not gonna be that involved in the food,” Doriot said.

However, Savidge added, “If somebody needs to sober up before they take off, they can have a pizza.”

In addition to fostering musicians, the trio hopes to promote local artists and sell their work on the walls as part of “The Pour House Starving Artist of the Month Series.” The artists will keep the profits.

“That’s all just part of keeping it somewhere where it’s very locally involved. Because lots of bars you go into have a feel like they’re trying to be from a bigger city or don’t quite identify with Toledo,” Doriot said.

In addition to taking down the Irish flag and Guinness sign, the trio plans to redecorate the bar a bit. Savidge said they want the like to look like a Wes Anderson movie but “more grown-up.”

The Pour House will have 16 beers, including several craft beers, available in addition to a special long island menu.

Each drink features a clever name and tagline like “Carmen Sandiego: You’ll have no idea where in the world you are,” “Tequila Mockingbird: The reason Boo Radley was so creepy” and “Princess Peach: Thank You! But your sobriety is in another castle.”

“We just want to bring some fun here. We want to bring a party here that everybody can enjoy and be comfortable in,” said Savidge, who is set to perform at The Pour House from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.

Jake Pilewski is slated to play Feb. 7; The Rivets are featured Feb. 8 and Clif Milliman is set for Feb 9.

The Pour House is scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Jan. 24. Regular hours are 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The bar is located at 7430 W. Central Ave.

Tags: Andrew Z, Beau Harvey, Brandon Doriot, Calen Savidge, City BBQ, the Pour House

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013 at 11:20 am and is filed under Entrepreneurs, Toledo Business Link.
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