Our Story

In 1978, Dan Sullivan was fed up. After a decade working for Baxter Mechanical — a large commercial plumbing contractor in Rochester — he was tired of watching customers get the runaround. Long wait times, unclear pricing, journeymen who rushed through jobs. He knew there was a better way.

So Dan took out a small loan, bought a used Ford van, and started Sullivan Plumbing out of his garage on Culver Road. His business plan was simple: answer your own phone, show up when you say you will, charge a fair price, and stand behind your work.

Word spread fast. By the mid-80s, Dan had three trucks and a small shop on East Main Street. His son Mike grew up sweeping that shop, riding along on service calls, and learning the trade from the ground up.

When Dan's knees gave out in 2009, Mike took over officially — though he'd been running day-to-day operations for years. He kept the same values but modernized the business with GPS-tracked trucks, digital invoicing, and online scheduling.

Now Jake Sullivan represents the third generation. He brings technical knowledge about smart home systems and high-efficiency equipment, but he learned the fundamentals the same way Mike did — on the truck, turning wrenches.

Today, Sullivan & Sons runs 8 trucks, employs 12 people, and has never run a Groupon, never done bait-and-switch pricing, and never left a job unfinished.