Brewhaus Bar is breaking open the shelves once again, opening for the first time since renovations shut down the business last year.
Owner John O’Riordan held a soft open Monday, Feb. 12 for the establishment, opening the doors and inviting patrons back into the bar they know and love, with a new atmosphere to it.
“I tried to bring the property back to how it was with comedy and light music, it’s something we’re working on right now,” O’Riordan said. “We want to open up and get everyone familiar with everything again.”
Brewhaus is touting its quality-of-life upgrades for their customers, including brand new bathrooms, redone flooring, ceiling structure and much more that caused the late-night joint to be shut down for months.
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“It was in such a bad state that I tried to keep it as close as it was as possible, but it was in such a bad state that it was close to impossible,” O’Riordan said. “The bathrooms were like absolutely off the walls bad. I had never seen any like that in my life and those have been completely redone.”
O’Riordan declined at this time to answer the sum of costs toward renovations, as continuing projects will still be in the works for another six to eight months.
Originally owned by trio Denny Poke, Wally Beck and Mike Parkes, the bar located at 617 E. Washington St. dates back to 1994 and has been a go-to late night hub for downtown life.
Businessman and previous restaurant owner Frank Westwood purchased the property in 2011 from the original owners, before changing hands on the establishment to current owner O’Riordan in 2023.
O’Riordan owns multiple businesses in Sangamon County, including Celtic Mist – an Irish themed bar on S. Seventh St. in Springfield.
Customers may notice one big change at the bar: no more food options as the kitchen has closed for good.
“There are a lot of food choices here and I wouldn’t want to compete,” O’Riordan said. “The Anvil & Forge is next door and their food is exceptionally good so I wouldn’t worry about food for the bar.”
Brewhaus has yet to post their new hours on the outside of the building with the glowing sign in neon colors that reads open, but patrons can expect to see the bar open every day from noon to one a.m.
O’Riordan plans for an official grand re-opening later in March around St. Patrick’s Day; but more information hasn’t been provided about the time or deals.
For late night pub crawlers looking for something nostalgic but new, Brewhaus is offering that experience.
O’Riordan says more than anything, he wanted to keep the feeling of the original bar when it had opened and improve on what was already groundwork.