Over several decades, the building at the southwest corner of Fifth and Monroe streets has been the site of numerous bars and nightspots. The Firehouse, Craft Beer Bar, Jake & Elwood’s, the Wooden Nickel and Crocodile Rock have all had a home at 430 E. Monroe St. Following the St. Patrick’s Day closure of its most recent incarnation as Whiskey Jack’s, a pair of Springfield entrepreneurs are set to open the prime downtown location anew as The Bus Stop with a projected opening in August.
New owners Vinal Luciano (whose legal name is Zac Lowman) and Troy Minton have big plans for The Bus Stop, located next to the popular Gallina Pizza restaurant. They hope to attract more people to the downtown area with live entertainment, a rarity in the neighborhood since the recent closing of Bar None, The Gin Mill and Buzz Bomb Brewery.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Luciano said. “It was actually a dream of my mother’s, who’s no longer here.”
In addition to signature drinks and a welcoming, regionally- flavored atmosphere replete with Route 66- and Abe Lincoln-themed decor, Luciano and Minton along with promoter Meezy Killafield plan to revive their Rich Taste open mic series on Tuesday nights, to be modeled after Bar None’s historic Torch Tuesdays series, including the return of host and DJ Aaron “Uncanny” Phillips.
“The Bus Stop is gonna be all-inclusive in terms of multiple musical genres being represented,” explained Luciano. “There are some nice establishments downtown, but we just wanna add to it and try to bring some life back to the area. I used to come down to the Firehouse when I was a younger man, and it was always one of my favorite spots, so it’s kind of full circle.”
Before he was born, Luciano’s mother had worked at the iconic Ideal Drugstore and Midway Pub, a unique combination of pharmacy, diner and bar, which was located on the northeast corner of Spring and Cook from the mid-1940s through the late ‘80s.
“She was a bartender there, and she always talked about how she’d love to have a place of her own. And when I was younger, we always talked about a hypothetical bar we’d own one day.”
After his mother’s passing in 2023, the opportunity to open The Bus Stop holds both sentimental and practical appeal. Luciano had worked with Minton in sales at a few different companies, and the two had often discussed their mutual desire to open a club.
“When it became available, we just jumped on it,” Luciano said. “It’s gonna be a place where everybody can get together, have a good time.”
Scott Faingold has been an instructor at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast. He can be reached at scottfaingold@gmail.com.