St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published March 9, 2026
ST. CLAIR SHORES — Established in 1948, Pat O’Briens is going strong in its ninth decade in St. Clair Shores.
The business has been at the corner of 10 Mile Road and Jefferson Avenue since it opened. But before there was Pat O’Briens, there was Sid’s.
As early as the mid-1930s, there was a gas station and beer garden at what is now Pat O’Brien’s. Harry Suddards, an Englishman and former employee of the Dodge brothers in Detroit, was the owner. Mr. Suddards was born in Bradford, England in 1889. He immigrated to the United States in 1913. He died in 1946.
In the 1961 local phone book, Pat O’Brien’s listing made special note of their “fish & chips”.
In this photo from 1978, Pat O’Brien’s is between Tera Real Estate and St. Clair Marine.
To view this and other historic photographs, go to sbrb-montage.auto-graphics.com.
— Submitted by Heidi Christein, archivist, St. Clair Shores Public Library