After 12 years Kalamazoo’s Beloved Gull Road Tavern Reopens

The beloved local favorite and community staple has finally reopened its doors. This is the news we've been waiting over a decade for!

It's hard to believe it's really real. I drive past the old tavern every day and have seen the slow progression of the building located at 5031 Gull Road. I'll admit, I was starting to lose faith.

Get our free mobile app

Lovingly referred to as the "GIRT" the tavern used to be a popular watering hole for college students including nearby Nazareth College, nurses and emergency personnel fresh off a late night shift at Borgess hospital, and other thirsty locals.

If only walls could talk! According to locals on social media the GIRT was the place to be:

• "1st legal drink at midnight of my 21st Bday!!" - Tim Brandon
• "It was a 2nd home to many of us from Naz" - Peg Dudek Kwasniewski
• "Last call at that place many times" - Dan Snyder
• "Many celebrations there! 'Those were the Days!'" - Sharon Sanfilippo Koziel

From what I can dig up in the establishment opened in the 1940s and was owned by a man named Albert Davies who also owned the Fairway Tavern. After changing hands several times over the years the tavern closed in 2013-- and there it sat.

That is, until we noticed construction crews coming in and out of the building beginning in 2022. Eagle-eyed locals have kept watch for updates since then and every so often I'd see a local asking for the latest update but there was none. Well, the best answer we could get was:

"When you see beer trucks outside, that's when you know it's open!"

With little to no fanfare a Facebook page for GIRT quietly updated their cover photo and next thing we know, boom, it's open! When I drove past the evening of June 30 cars had already filled the parking lot and the place was buzzing.

I'm a GIRT newbie so I'm anxious to see what all the buzz is about. According to their Facebook page the tavern is open 7 days a week and they serve food too. I can't wait to pop over and grab a tasty sub for lunch while I check the place out.

Find menu, hours, and everything else you need to know on the brand-spankin' new Gull Road Tavern here.