Beloved Monroe bar endures through the decades

Duvalls celebrated for 40 years of owning bar

MONROE, Mich. – Tuesday is Doug's Day in Monroe -- held every Sept. 18 in honor of the day Doug Duvall bought his corner saloon.

Friday will mark 40 years at the place where everyone knows each other's name.

Duvall was the Pabst delivery man for 11 and a half years until the bar came up for sale.

"The fella that was supposed to buy it was killed in a motorcycle accident," Duvall said. "It came up again, and that's when I checked into it, bought it. That was Sept. 18, 1978."

A few years later, a woman came in and caught his eye.

"I was shooting pool for a team out of South Ida Tavern and we were playing pool here and that's how I met him," Ellen Duvall said. "We kept beating his team and he kept aggravating us."

The couple got married in 1986, and nowadays, Ellen Duvall runs the show.

"This is one job where if you don't like somebody, you can ask them to leave," Ellen Duvall said. "Makes it easy."

After 40 years, the Duvalls have formed really close relationships with their customers.

"If people come in the (front door) we know they're new because nobody uses the front door," Ellen Duvall said. "It's always that one."

You can watch Jason Colthorp's full story in the video posted above.


About the Authors:

Jason is Local 4’s utility infielder. In addition to anchoring the morning newscast, he often reports on a variety of stories from the tragic, like the shootings at Michigan State, to the off-beat, like great gas station food.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.