GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Downtown Grand Rapids’ longest-running restaurant and bar has new owners.

Cottage Bar and its sister restaurant, One Trick Pony Grill and Taproom, were sold Feb. 24 to its neighbors Jassi and Sandeep Dhami, who own Palace of India. The restaurant was put up for sale in February 2020.

The restaurant has been around for 94 years. Dan Verhil, who’s owned the restaurant for 41 years, bought the restaurant from his father in 1980. He then opened One Trick Pony next door in 1996.

Cottage Bar, which originally opened as the Cottage Sandwich Shop, was first opened by Earl and Marie Coon in 1927. After the end of Prohibition, the owners were the first to get a liquor license in Grand Rapids, according to Cottage Bar’s website.

Verhil said it was important that the new owners were local and understood the restaurant’s “rich history.” He also said he wanted his loyal staff to be retained.

“Thank you so much to all my loyal guests and staff for their loyalty and patronage over the years. It is a bittersweet moment for me to step away, but I feel it is time for the new owners to be the custodian of these iconic restaurants as I move on to my next new adventure,” Verhil said.

Verhil is inviting guests for a goodbye during a socially distanced event at One Trick Pony on March 15 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Guests are welcome to dine at Cottage Bar afterward.