Brewhaus, the iconic downtown watering hole, has a new owner. John O’Riordan, who also owns Celtic Mist, a nearby Irish-themed bar, confirmed that he has purchased the business at 617 E. Washington Ave. and temporarily closed it for renovations.
“Basically, we’re freshening up everything. The bathrooms and flooring needed work. We’re also repairing the ceilings and walls and tuckpointing,” he said. “We won’t be using the kitchen anymore; I’m taking it back to the original layout.”
O’Riordan said that in addition to owning Celtic Mist for the past 15 years, he has a variety of other business ventures in Sangamon, Menard and Cass counties. He purchased Brewhaus from Frank Westwood, who has also had other businesses over the years, including Frankie’s 49er on Bruns Lane and Frankie’s on the Boulevard on MacArthur Boulevard.
Mike Parkes, Denny Polk and Wally Beck originally opened Brewhaus in October 1994 and Westwood acquired it in 2011.
O’Riordan said that while he is tackling a number of renovation projects, he plans to limit the upgrades to the building itself. “I’m trying to keep the décor, because it has a good atmosphere. You can over-change things and do it the wrong way.”
While he said he expects to be working on the building for the next year or so – and hasn’t made a decision yet about what to do with the upstairs – he hopes to have the most significant renovations completed within the next 30 days.
“You never know until you open things up what’s really in there, and it always takes longer than you planned,” O’Riordan said of the work. “But I’m hoping to be open by the end of July in time for the Downhome (Music Festival).”