Tom Bosley and his wife Sharon first launched their Bitter Tom’s brand when they opened a restaurant and bar in downtown Lake Orion three months before the start of the pandemic. They managed to pilot the business through the mandates and closures that accompanied the global outbreak and opened a distillery in Rochester Hills late last year.
Now the couple is embarking on a tasting room called Bitter Tom’s Spirits and Craft Cocktails set to open late summer at 319 Main St. in downtown Rochester.
The new venue will sell locally sourced Bourbons, vodkas, rums, gins and other craft cocktails made at its Rochester Hills distillery at 2937 Waterview Drive.
“People can come in with their spouse or friends, maybe before their reservations or after dinner, and grab a couple drinks while they wait for a table somewhere else,” managing member Tom Bosley told What Now Detroit. “We just want them to come in, grab a couple cocktails and hang out for a bit.”
The downtown Rochester location represents the third phase for Bitter Tom’s. It’s envisioned as a complement to the nearby distillery, which opened about nine months ago.
More restaurants and tasting rooms could be in store for the future and the company’s preparing to roll out a ready-to-drink deal to package some of their most popular cocktails in a can and sell them retail.
The 1,100 square-foot tasting room will occupy a storefront along the Main Street corridor in the heart of Rochester’s dining and entertainment district. It won’t have a kitchen or serve hot food. No beer or wine will be on the shelves either. Bosley said snacks or single-servings of charcuterie boards may be offered. Customers can also bring their own meals or have food delivered.
Bosley, a general contractor, is helming the construction leg of a $100,000 renovation. The owners are gutting the storefront’s interior to transform it into the 40-seat tasting room.
The Bosleys have been kicking around the idea of Bitter Tom’s since 2012, when Sharon suggested they open a distillery.
“I thought that was kind of an odd suggestion, kind of came out of nowhere,” Tom Bosley recalled. “We started doing some research about it and realized that it would be something kind of cool and unique.”
They sat on the idea until 2017 when they began searching for locations for the Lake Orion restaurant. The 125-seat modern American diner boasts a full food and drink menu.
“We have a very, very large craft cocktail menu at our restaurant in Lake Orion,” Bosley said. “So our goal would be to take a lot of those and bring them into Rochester. So the ones that we’ve developed that are good sellers up there, we’ll bring and have a full bar down here.”
Among the craft cocktails planned for the Rochester tasting room are traditional drinks like the Old Fashioned and Manhattan. There will also be original creations like the award-winning tequila Casablanca, Gaucho punch and the Toronto.
Bosley said he hopes to be open the doors late this summer. He noted the food-service component of the Lake Orion restaurant has been one of the most stressful parts of running the business due to industrywide staffing shortages. He said that was one of the driving forces for opening a tasting room to showcase their spirits and cocktails.
“It’s a little stressful for sure, as any new business is. But I’m definitely excited,” he said.
