Irish Lion Closing?
- Thread starter twenty02
- Start date
Liked the Irish Lion..."in theory", but just never really dug the place. Never got that cozy, friendly pub feel...more of like having lunch in some outdated cafe, where you were more of a hinderance than a client. The Shepard's Pie...that I dig at just about any NYC pub, or elsewhere, was just "meh". Didn't go out of my way to get there.
Hope it lives on in some format...the structural bar(s) are probably best in the city.
If I was hitting a place over there, it's usually Horse and Alley Bar...but that's just me. Horse shoulda kept the Golden Tee machine...a regular source of income for me.
Hope it lives on in some format...the structural bar(s) are probably best in the city.
If I was hitting a place over there, it's usually Horse and Alley Bar...but that's just me. Horse shoulda kept the Golden Tee machine...a regular source of income for me.
Oh did you own those? I have so many friends who own bars and restaurants around town. I was going to buy a bunch of them and other games to stick in their bars but my friends said that they wouldn’t dump their current supplier bc I’d never come out to fix them or send anyone lol
My experience with restaurants over the years is they either do really well or bad.
As I said I have a ton of buddies who own restaurants. The ones who had other careers and did it later in life failed miserably. The ones who skipped college and started in their early 20s still have them today. They’ve flipped them multiple times but still in the biz
Got one in my basement right now. They sell the base, and you just mount your own TV for the screen...
My UWers and Analysts in Dallas used to play at the bars around the office after work. Usually $20/round buy in. They had a Golden Tee "marquee" that they made into a travelling trophy to mount outside your office or on your cube.
I was the only one with a kid, so rarely played...but when I did, they weren't ready to deal with a 15+ year GT veteran, with gambling scalps well beyond their skill level.
They banned me from the game because I was too good. 😄
A good bar has a few specific qualities.
Food -- A couple of signature offerings. Think Nick's Italian beef and stroms. (You can debate their quality, but they are signature offerings nontheless.) Something you can't get elsewhere but has wide appeal.
Drinks -- You need a working bar manager who pours drinks and serves customers and has his fingers all over that side of the business, not just a hip dude who won't be around past graduation day.
Vibe/service -- Hot chicks are a given, but you don't want to limit yourself. Longtime staff icons make a difference. Think Ruthie and Ruthie 2.0 (forget her name) at Nick's. Types you can count on day in and day out and who will also ride herd on the transient staff.
If you do the hiring I’ll be the full time EEOC guy.
The restaurant my parents and I did was a gold mine. We borrowed money to buy the building. I set up and operating loan with the bank. We opened with a $100 in our bank account. We never borrowed a dime on the operating loan and paid off the loan on the building in 3 years if my memory is correct.
I've seen enough Bar Rescue to know that Jon Taffer would approve of this.
All kidding aside, this could be something worth pursuing. We have a GM ready to step in immediately. Gotta think the financing would be doable with enough buy in from some of the successful people here. If they've been trying to sell for two years under strict terms, by now they should have loosened up and be willing to climb down off their high horse and take a reasonable offer. We've got the shysters to make that happen. We've got an experienced, anal beancounter to keep the finances in line. Hell, I'd even put up a pittance just to be a part of.
Let's do this.
I’d call Jonny T after the first week to get some tv exposure
You'd crumble the first time he called you an idiot.
Are you sleeping with staff?
ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH THE STAFF?!!!!!!
Hard to tell what's going on... Their FB post has a commercial Realtor listing picture. But his site doesn't have the listing. Also that business broker from 2 years ago doesn't have anything posted on his site. Maybe they pulled it off the market.
I spent the first week after we bought our restaurant slinging a sledgehammer breaking up concrete floors and walls ripping out the bar area and converting it to a food, salad and dessert buffet area.
How horrible was that destroying the bar? 😂
And make no mistake. I would shred Jonny t. Shred him.
BITCH I GOT VENEERS FOR THIS SHOW!!!! I DONT GIVE A F*UCK ABOUT YOUR FATASS OR THIS BAR?!!! YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!!!! IM HERE FOR THAT CAMERA!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER WE ARE IN THE RED OR BLACK. NOW TAKE YOUR FAT ASS AND PINT AND POINT THAT GOD DAMN CAMERA MY WAY. DONT **** WITH MY SHOT AGAIN
I always thought the upstairs area was a complete waste of space. Just one big open hall with zero appeal. If I took it over and had the money, I’d remake the upstairs into a series of booths/snugs w walls that went to the ceiling.
That’s where Zeke’s saloon girls will operate. Also known as Murt’s place
Nostalgia gives these places a bit of license I think . My daughter and I ate at nick’s a few years ago. The food was bad. If that was Joe’s here I’d never eat there again
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In the 70s, the Fireside Inn on east 3rd Street was one of the few nicer restaurants in B-town. Hard to believe now, with so many great places.
Yeah, but there's something about having a yard or half yard delivered to your table.
I know what you mean - it's not my favorite place. But it's a happening place with a good vibe - not necessarily Irish. And it's a Bloomington staple - hard to beat that.
I think music is key for a bar, unless there's a game(s) on.
Was it in a small town? Small town restaurants are the best - steady clientele and (usually) available cheap labor.
Another key is sweat equity, I think. I assume your family did much of the labor, probably unpaid for a while?
What kind of restaurant? Home cooking? Ethnic? Steak house?
I just need a reason for a tax deduction for my trips to Bloomington.
I'm listening to other operating units drone on about pipeline and revenue forecasts. This thread is way more interesting.
Nick's food has been bad for years now. They've even managed to **** up their pizza, which used to be excellent.
As Mark said, their signature sandwiches, the stroms, are mainly the bun - very little sauce.
About the only thing worth getting are the Sink the Biz fries, and even those have been hit or miss.
Sad, because Nick's used to have great food.
Future generations will never know the experience of getting the stink-eye from Ruthie.
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I like it more for the structure than the actual menu. Don't even really dig Irish food that much. I mean I like it... But not something top of my list.
Definitely hope someone doesn't take it over and gut the place.
Nowhere near the same situation.. But similar travesty happened to Union Jack in Broad Ripple... UJ bought the building across the street and moved their establishment there. New place has none of the charm but I understand them wanting to own the real estate.
The old location was a great old school pub build out that has been gutted and is now a modern looking shell of a commercial space.
Zeke’s experience as a sorority mom will come in handy on that last one.
Had lunch a Irish Lion a couple months ago, first time in a few years. You can tell the energy was lacking, even for a lunch.
The menu hasn't changed in decades, the blarney puffballs are the only thing above average.
I honestly would invest depending on what their books looked like. The bones are good, just needs some fresh blood. New owners need to:
The menu hasn't changed in decades, the blarney puffballs are the only thing above average.
I honestly would invest depending on what their books looked like. The bones are good, just needs some fresh blood. New owners need to:
- Bring back the Full yards yesterday.
- Do something with the upstairs; looks like a nursery home up there
- change the menu
- somebody else mentioned music; live music would be pretty cool
We need to steal the hiring manager at Janko's. Holy crap, those ladies are hot!
The beginners just go around refilling water. We gulp ours down so they'll come by more often. lol
Reading the rumor mill on Bloomington Reddit.... Sounds like the place isn't really for sale. Maybe just the building but not the brand/IP.
For all we know the building may be a mess. Definitely something odd that an institution like that in town wouldn't find a buyer in over 2 years. Most likely unreasonable sellers
For all we know the building may be a mess. Definitely something odd that an institution like that in town wouldn't find a buyer in over 2 years. Most likely unreasonable sellers
So we’re keeping the name and concept? If not, can’t we put this bar in anywhere?
Idea Man is my title. I only need 10% of all profits associated with the place and all spin offs (book deals, tv rights, franchises, etc.).
Let’s go!
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