Mattapoisett’s hometown bar is getting an overhaul, but it won’t change too much, says co-owner John Mello.

Mello, a Mattapoisett native, and his business partner, Joe Sauro of Wareham, purchased Rick’s Tavern on Route 6 last spring, renaming it The Stowaway. The two are also part owners of The Sail Loft in Dartmouth and Speedwell Tavern in Plymouth along with other partners.

For Mello, the Route 6 bar is an institution he wants to preserve.

“In a lot of ways it’s an historic landmark in Mattapoisett. So many people have gone through there over the generations,” he said.

Mello, 38, become a customer around 17 years ago when it was named Brad's and owned by Brad Barrows. Barrows owned the waterhole for three decades before he passed away, said Mello.

According to Mello, not much has changed since Barrows owned it, and the upgrades he and Sauro commissioned will not harm the bar’s low-key, comfortable interior.

“It was very, very important to us not to change the character of the way it was,” he said.

Renovations to the building, owned by Marion resident Mike Sudofsky, began in January and include knocking out one wall to make the space more functional and extending the bar around three sides to provide more seating. There will also be an enhanced kitchen to allow for a simple menu of lunch and bar food, which was an offering at Brad’s years ago.

Despite the changes, even the walls will look much the same. Mello said they went to “great lengths” to find similar wood paneling to match that already in the bar.

Once finished, Mello envisions that customers will be able to come in and step back in history to a time when they enjoyed a drink with their grandfather or dad.

“I think every town needs to have a place that’s friendly and comfortable for everybody in town to go to,” he said.

Mello hopes to reopen The Stowaway by Feb. 22.