The past few years have been extremely difficult in the bar business, says Bill French, as the economy keeps the pressure on that sector.

Bars that went into the downturn with cash flow issues, or concepts with profit margins that left little room for change, suddenly found themselves facing as much uncertainty as the rest us, if not more.

“Business that were strong, they reinvested,” said French, co-owner of Aubree’s Saloon in Depot Town with his wife, Sandee. “… Their sales are actually increasing now.”

That’s playing out right now in Ypsilanti, which had been looking to its lively bar and restaurant scene for stability amid the downtown.

French is part of the reinvestment, as he prepares to launch franchises of the Aubree’s brand, and as he signs a deal for a new bar, Woodruff’s, in a building he owns on East Cross Street.

But at the same time, he and the rest of the community are watching what’s happening downtown - where Savoy and Pub 13 owner David Curtis had power turned off to a total of 4 establishments that he runs on the block of North Washington from the corner of Michigan Avenue.

French expresses what many in town are thinking: He says he’s just saddened to watch it unfold, and hopes Curtis can reopen.

“The community is counting heavily on his success,” French said.

Retail shops, small restaurants and traditional “office space” businesses have been through their ups and downs in Ypsilanti’s downtown over the years. Many are startups; some succeed, forming a base of daytime activity that officials and building owners want to grow.

At nighttime, it’s been a different story: Downtown’s nightlife drove incredible traffic on the same streets. It started in large part with Club Divine; the Tap Room then expanded; and the revived Elbow Room created a niche for itself with a younger crowd.

One of my most striking images of downtown Ypsilanti came in winter 2004, when my husband and I - backed by a babysitter at home and a few unplanned hours to kill on a Friday night - headed to the Tap Room for a quick beer.

The activity on the downtown streets at that hour, about 10 p.m., was stunning, jaw-droppingly so, for a person who’d grown numb to conversations about how to revive downtown Ypsilanti.

It had happened. And it was the nightlife doing it.

That’s the kind of transformation that Curtis helped launch downtown and that French drove in Depot Town, as he converted the former Alibi Bar into Aubree’s. Linda French, his sister, established Sidetrack. And together, those two bar-restaurants have been the cornerstones of that commercial district since the 1980s.

French recalls starting his business right out of college. Friends helped renovate, and their energy and sweat equity grew into Aubree’s. They expanded and changed formats over the years - live bands never took off, but the rooftop tiki bar is a hit - until they found a formula that works.

Today, French is getting ready to franchise Aubree’s, after expanding to other locations with a sit-down pizza menu and pub atmosphere.

But he hasn’t forgotten his roots as a young entrepreneur who was willing to get his hands dirty in his building and fuel his business with energy and enthusiasm.

That’s what he’s seeing from Hasan Miyhar, who leased the former Cady’s restaurant from him as of last week, and launched Woodruff’s days later.

“It’s a nice way to start a business,” French said of the wave of hands-on support from friends.

French, as a successful operator and building owner on the street, also feels the responsibility to keep the district vital. He bought the former Cady’s building - then the shuttered Old Town restaurant - when the city couldn’t find any takers.

The closing of Old Town had affected the merchants on the street, French said. The impact of that vacancy was painful, and Bill and Sandee French stepped in to buy the property and try a new restaurant concept.

People in the community speak well of Cady’s, but French ended up getting out of that restaurant business. Other operators stepped up, but they didn’t last. And the building has been for sale for about a year. He’s had a couple of interested parties.

“We didn’t think they were a good fit for the community,” he said.

So in the meantime, Woodruff’s is taking shape in the space, and French said Mihyar and the bar’s manager, Andy Garris - formerly of Curtis’ Savoy and before that, the Elbow Room - eventually plan to get a management contract in place, and ultimately hope to buy it.

The move, French hopes, fulfills a vision to turn Depot Town into an entertainment district.

“I think it’ll reenergize (Depot Town),” he said.

That it’s happening as Curtis’s establishments downtown are in flux is unfortunate for the city and its bar patrons. He’s vowing to reopen them, and is contesting back billing from DTE Energy.

The other bars downtown, the Tap Room and Elbow Room, remain open. A new restaurant with live music is still under way in the former TC’s Speakeasy, ready to open as Red Rock Downtown Barbecue in early 2011.

And now Depot Town will get a new venue to join its longtime favorites.

French said he never wanted to get into the fine dining business, but developed Cady’s to help other businesses on the street.

Today, he was ready to sell it but now sees a chance to help launch a bar in his space that could end up competing with Aubree’s.

But he came to the same conclusion that he had in the past as he considered the latest change: “I feel like it’s going to help the other businesses in our community.”