Tom Jennings stands in front of downtown St. Joseph’s Pump House Grille, which he opened in 2000. Photo by Katie Johnson

By KATIE JOHNSON

katie@offthewater.com

It’s a Saturday afternoon, and life is good for Tom Jennings.

He is surrounded by a bustling wait staff, a bar where every stool is occupied and a line of customers waiting nearly out the door.

“I’m thanking the Lord every day,” he said. “It’s been a real see-saw, but it’s been good.”

Jennings, 53, owns the Pump House Grille on State Street St. Joseph, in the middle of the business district and within a short walking distance of Silver Beach.

Ten years ago, he and his parents purchased the landmark building and renovated it in an effort to improve downtown. The building was formerly home to H.I.’s Saloon and the Pump House before that; it has housed a bar or restaurant for at least 50 years. His brother-in-law developed the menu for the restaurant.

“When we opened it, there were a lot of empty stores downtown,” Jennings said. “The restaurant came out of the gates really strong.”

But the restaurant would ride high for only a short time. With a number of poor managers, bad business decisions and risky menu choices in its wake, the Pump House went bankrupt.

“It’s been a rocky road, to say the least,” said Jennings, who also owns the Czars 505 nightclub in St. Joseph and Casey’s Bar and Grille in New Buffalo. “We’re gone through a lot of managers.”

But even a recession didn’t deter the restaurant, now operated by a new manager, Mike Bredice, and offering a revised menu after many previous ones were scrapped.

“We’ve gone back to our roots, and we have enhanced those,” Jennings said.

The Pump House serves lunch and dinner selections; its owner boasts of the ribs, steaks and barbecue.

“We didn’t think we should be a high-end restaurant,” Jennings explained, “(but) I’m trying to turn it more into a dinner house.”

Menu options range from a Asian salmon salad — mixed greens, cashews, green onions, carrots and a sesame vinaigrette topped with grilled salmon — to a variety of traditional burgers and fries, to homemade meatloaf and tequila shrimp pasta — linguini tossed with a spicy, creamy sauce.

The food and atmosphere are proving popular as passersby browsing the shops on a cool, sunny day peek in the Pump House’s windows, like what they see and step inside.

“St. Joe’s done a really good job of getting people into our town this year,” Jennings said. “I’m very appreciative of that.”

The Pump House Grille is located at 214 State St., St. Joseph. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. It can be reached at (269) 983-0001. Visit the Pump House online at www.pumphousegrille.com.