New owners clean-up, preserve downtown mainstay Foran’s

Foran’s Irish Pub, a downtown Detroit watering hole that was open only intermittently for the last few years, has reopened under new ownership. Brothers Steve and Tim Tharp purchased the building and business this spring and completed substantial interior clean-up prior to reopening the venerable establishment seven days a week.

 “The whole idea is for it to be the most local Detroit bar,” Tim Tharp says. They serve local goods like Motor City Brewing Works beer, Avalon Bakery bread, Faygo pop and meats and produce purchased at Eastern Market.

As an amenity to nearby residents, the Tharps have applied for a permit to install a bike rack outside but encourage riders to bring their bikes inside until the permit is granted.

As for food, Foran’s will serve its menu of pub grub as late as they are open (which is 2 a.m. most nights). They’ll also offer music and entertainment.

The circa 1879 building once served as a Grand Trunk Railroad ticket office, which explains the high arched ceilings and expansive transom windows. The brothers have uncovered the rear transom window that had been hidden for decades, and hope to one day reveal the covered marble floor. They proudly point out that theirs is the only building in the lower Woodward corridor to retain its original façade.

Excited about downtown’s rebirth, the Tharp brothers are nothing if not “committed to everything happening down here,” states Tim.

Source: Steve & Tim Tharp, Foran’s Irish Pub