By Carol Britton Meyer

The landmark property at Pemberton that houses Jo’s Nautical Bar recently changed hands, but loyal customers will be happy to learn that Stephanie Aprea and Michael McDevitt will continue to operate the popular gathering place for now.

McDevitt and Aprea sold the building at 125 Main St. on Dec. 8 for $1.5 million to a company based in Arlington. They have owned the property for the past 19 years.

“We’ll still be running the bar. Nothing has changed,” Aprea told The Hull Times. “The hours remain the same, Thursday through Sunday year-round, with the same great staff, people, drinks, and what we think are the best prices in town.”

The buyer, according to the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, is Arlington-based Coleme, LLC. Paperwork filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s corporations division lists Jean A. English as the resident agent of Coleme, with attorneys Kenneth Ingber and Mary Winstanley O’Connor as signatories, or those authorized to act on behalf of the limited liability company.

The buyer could not be reached to discuss plans for the property. Community Development and Planning Director Chris DiIorio told The Hull Times that no plans have been filed in his office. According to the Town of Hull’s zoning maps, the property is zoned Commercial Recreation C, which permits hotels, marinas, multi-family development, and restaurants, among other uses.

According to the Registry of Deeds, Coleme, LLC also has an option to purchase a plot of land across Main Street; Aprea and McDevitt have maintained ownership of the pier on the southern end of the property.

Building Commissioner Bartley Kelly said no new plans had been filed with the building department as of Tuesday. The only plan that he recalled was the approval-not-required subdivision of lots that was filed earlier with the planning board “that divided the lot and showed the old Coast Guard building that Mike McDevitt was trying to permit a couple of years ago through the planning board and conservation,” he said.

According to the Hull Historical Society, the property was originally owned by the Nantasket Beach Steamboat Company, and the pier was known as the steamboat supply pier.

Longtime Hull Town Clerk John “Jack” Darcy and his wife, Josephine, purchased the property in 1950. The business was commonly called Darcy’s while they owned it. Jack Darcy died in 1999; his wife sold the 125 Main St. property to McDevitt and Aprea for $1 million in the fall of 2003.

Following Jo Darcy’s death in 2004, McDevitt and Aprea bought the land next door at 127 Main St. from Mrs. Darcy’s estate for $255,000 in May 2005.

When they bought it, McDevitt and Aprea pledged to maintain the bar’s friendly atmosphere and have made few changes during their operation of the establishment. The walls of the bar are covered with decades of nautical memorabilia that tell stories of years gone by, which is one of the reasons why locals and out-of-town visitors are such big fans.

“We want people to know that Jo’s is still around and will be for a long while,” Aprea said. “We are still here!”