The coveted seat at the end of the bar, reserved for Rumor’s Deli founder Annette Harris.

Service industry veteran Aaron Coombs had always dreamt of one day owning his own sports bar, and while taking over a pillar of the midday dining community of Cullman may not have been in his plans Coombs’ purchase of Rumor’s Deli last March has been nothing but positive.

Being the youngest among his siblings, the responsibility fell to Coombs to help his parents Patrick and Jolene make the move to their retirement home on Smith Lake from Louisiana. Quickly falling in love with not only the lake and location, but also the sense of community Coombs decided to remain.

“There’s just such a great community here. I noticed how supportive everyone was of local businesses, you don’t find that everywhere. It also seemed like it would be great place to raise a family,” Coombs said.

With his bar ownership goals still in mind Coombs first noticed the historic building housing Rumor’s Deli the first time he arrived in Cullman.

“You know the very first time we came here I saw the building and I said ‘that would be such a cool spot for a bar,” Coombs said.

Through luck and circumstance a mutual friend connected Coombs with Rumor’s previous owner Annette Harris knowing that Harris had been considering selling her business to the right buyer.

Coombs, who remained living in Louisiana until finalizing the purchase of the deli, was enthusiastic about the opportunity to step into an already established business but was unaware of exactly how deeply rooted Rumor’s was into the Cullman community.

“I knew it was a pretty popular spot, but I had no idea just HOW popular it was,” Coombs said.

Luckily for Coombs, Harris extended her original agreement to train the new owners for an additional three weeks during the transition, reassuring her loyal customers that the beloved establishment was in good hands. In exchange Coombs has reserved the end seat of his bar for Harris.

“She was a big help, she agreed to stay for three weeks to train us but at the end I told her I didn’t think we were ready and thought we needed more time. She didn’t hesitate at all, she really wanted to make sure that we were prepared and set up to do well. I think that she really helped ease some customers minds to. There was a little bit of hesitancy at first with some of the really loyal regulars, but seeing her here kind of convinced them and now we pretty much still have all of the daytime regulars,” Coombs said.

Coombs was adamant about preserving the rich history of both Rumor’s and the building which it occupied by leaving the interior mostly unchanged apart from incorporating personal touches with pictures from current staff members. Coombs said that the grandson of the original owner of the building’s —R.J. Tucker— grandson has become a regular.

Giving himself time to acclimate to the existing business before incorporating his own vision, Coombs began offering nightly menus and opened Hank’s Sports Bar in the main dining area one year after taking ownership.

While the lunch menu remains unchanged and even has many of the it’s favorite items rolled into the nightly menu, Coombs made sure to incorporate tastes from heritage into the nightly menu with boudin balls, roast beef and shrimp po-boys, family recipes from his best friends and employees Kendrick and Ramsey Boudreaux. Coombs even incorporates a staple of his parent’s Kansas City home into his menu with “The Babe” a KC style pork-tenderloin sandwich.

“It’s a totally different vibe at night, and we have tried to really make that distinction but also making it seamless. It’s like this is a deli during the day and it’s a restaurant at night,” Coombs said.

While Coombs’ says he is currently coasting on the successful launch of Hank’s, his plans do not include complacency. Drawing upon his past experiences in the service industry Coombs is hoping expand the entertainment offerings at Hank’s to include music, comedy and trivia.

Holidays at Hank’s may soon present unique opportunities with Coombs saying there are ideas to close the venue for a more exclusive experience by allowing patrons to purchase tickets.

“We absolutely love out customers, but we want to appeal to an even wider audience. We want to give everyone something they can enjoy here. That’s kind of a theme here when we start to feel like we are becoming monotonous we immediately start thinking ‘Okay what something new we can try?’,” Coombs said.

The serendipitous events leading to Coombs adoption of Rumor’s and his addition of his sports bar combined with the welcoming nature of the community surrounding his business, Coombs has not only started a business in Cullman, but has made a home here.

“You know even when we first started people were just so kind, we made friends here our very first day just at the drive thru window. People would stop by and bring us welcome baskets and all kinds of stuff. When that started happening I kind of took a step back and just realized that I was definitely where I was supposed to be,” Coombs said.