With 15 years of military service combined, Dave Tagert and Stacey Bronson will bring what they experienced from other parts of the world to a new “gastro pub” in downtown Port Orchard.
The couple is planning to open Devilfish Public House, 639 Bay St., for business the third week of June.
Dave spent six years in the Marines, and Stacey, ia a nine-year Navy veteran.
Dave was a “grunt” with recon and Stacey was a hull technician in the Navy.
“We never met during that aspect,” Dave said. “That was my first hesitation in dating her.”
The couple has been together for 12 years.
“I’m doing my share to support the Navy,” Dave laughed.
For the past several months, Dave and Stacey have been coming up to Port Orchard from Lewis County and working on the new venture several days a week. The couple is doing all the remodeling work on the 2,000-square-foot building.
“We do a lot of wood, a lot of varnish and we put that love into it,” Dave said.
Dave and Stacey are not new to Kitsap County and Port Orchard. The couple once lived in an old beach home near the Marina Park waterfront. The building has been torn down for the park’s expansion.
They operated scuba diving shops in Port Orchard and Gig Harbor until 2006.
“When we left here, we never thought about bringing a business back up here,” Dave said.
Stacey, who has family in Port Orchard, said the couple found a boat they would use to escape from work.
They were driving through downtown when they discovered the building was vacant.
“As long as Dave and I can remember, there has always been something in the building,” Stacey said. “The dream started developing again.”
The background of the pub’s bar area is a large piece of wood that was once the stern of a 42-foot Chris-Craft boat that burned and sank in the Sinclair Inlet several years ago.
Dave said holes for the beer taps will be drilled into the wood.
He said the eatery has a nautical theme that includes old dive helmets from the 1920s.
Dave said the Port Orchard location’s theme is centered around boating.
“The marina here is why we made that decision,” he said. “We debated about having the same theme with the Devilfish, but we don’t want to be a chain.”
Dave said “gastro pub” is an old term that died out in the early 1900s.
Two years ago, the couple opened Devilfish Public House or commonly know as “The Fish,” in Chehalis. The eatery is a 21-and-over pub that has a 5-star rating from Yelp.com.
“We have the only 5-star rating in southwest Washington,” Dave said.
Dave said the food specialty is “top secret.”
Stacy said they use the best ingredients and everything will be homemade.
“You can tell if its homemade,” Stacey added.
Stacey said the couple pulls food from their travels while in the military.
“Since I was stationed in the South Pacific, I put together some Hawaiian and Asian recipes,” she said. “Because Dave was in Europe, we pull Greek, Italian and English recipes to use.”
Stacey said their menu will be “globally inspired.”
Dave said his eateries specialize in “craft beers.” They have 26 beers on tap in Chehalis.
“We go out and find those beers and there are no corporate beers on tap,” Dave said.
He said the craft beer industry is exploding with new items.
Dave said one of the main reasons the increased interest in craft beers in the U.S. is because of the increased tax base four years ago in England.
“A lot of those young craft brewers have come to the states where they can experiment,” he said.
He said in England the tax was based on how high the alcohol content was.
“Six months ago, they reversed the tax from four years ago,” Dave said.
He said he’s looking into getting some of the new beer from London in the future.
Dave said the eatery caters to an over-35 crowd.
“We’re not a sports bar. We’re a public house,” Dave said.
He said a public house is not a bar, but a gathering place for the community.
“We have a better rating with ladies over 50,” said Dave.
Dave and Stacey want people to feel comfortable when they come to their business and enjoy the food and beverages.
The new eatery should hold up to 70 people, Stacey said.
They are looking to hire about seven people and have a cook lined up for the new location.
“It’s important in a restaurant how the beer flows and how the food is coming out,” said Stacey. “That is important for us.”
The couple is looking at providing some live music — mostly acoustic.
They are encouraged by the opening of the new indoor market, which is under construction in downtown Port Orchard.