Barflies make the world go round - Pub & Grub

By Sarah Gray

Pub & Grub - Barflies make the world go round

Walking into Here’s to You Pub & Grub feels a bit like walking into the fictional bar Cheers. Everyone knows your name - or nickname if you prefer. It has the “dive bar” feel that owner Kevin Conant wanted when he opened the bar and restaurant 15 years ago. “I felt there was a need,” he said. Having worked in bars and restaurants while studying computer science, he added he has always liked the bar atmosphere and talking with customers. After two years of balancing both, he left the corporate world behind for Here’s to You, and the community is better for it. “Barflies are what make the world go round.”

More than a bar, Here’s To You is somewhere to relax with friends, have a fantastic meal, watch a game and feel at home. Yes the drinks are cold—with more than 75 percent of the handles from Michigan breweries—but it’s also the comfortableness felt at the bar or table.

And it’s the food. Conant describes it as “bar food” but it is so much more than that. Yes, burgers, but who has ever heard of a goober burger (peanut butter and mayonnaise)? Fries, of course - but how about the best chili cheese fries in Michigan (voted by MLIve in 2017). And that’s just the start.

Conant and his staff pride themselves on their “from scratch” kitchen making everything from egg rolls to soups, a selection which changes weekly. Even while Kevin is listing his creations he is getting requests from staff on what they would like to see back on the specials board next. “I like to keep things interesting,” he says. He credits his interest in cooking and making his menu items from scratch to his mom.

In addition to making delicious creations inside the pub, Kevin also takes his food out in the community participating in everything from the Hillsdale Foodie Walks to the upcoming chili cook-off.

Here’s to You checks off all the boxes when it comes to what a good hometown bar should be. Beer selection, check. Good food, check. Next is the welcoming atmosphere. That box can easily be checked. People from all over the community come to Here’s to You and feel like they belong. From college kids to professors to factory workers and everyone in between, Kevin says, “We pride ourselves on our diversity. It’s a bar for everybody.”

And they are always offering something for someone. Upstairs the bourbon bar recently opened for the season on the refurbished mid-century bar from the American Legion and Kevin has a range of cocktails lined up to serve. Wednesday night is college night, Thursday nights are music bingo and Friday morning the pub opens early to third shifters for breakfast.

For lunch or dinner, a drink or a cocktail, stop into Here’s to You Pub & Grub at 45 North Street in downtown Hillsdale. Open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Just look for the iconic barfly and beer.