New name, owners for Crows Mill Pub

A new group of owners has taken over the former Crows Mill Pub and reopened it as The Library Pizza and Sports Bar. The building at 1220 Toronto Road has been a bar and music venue since 1976, although it has operated under various names and owners over the decades.

“We’re rebranding, and we will be serving food before the end of the year,” said Andy Reutiman, one of the new owners. His wife, Haley, is the bar manager. The other owners are Chris and Amy Garner, Doug Bloemke, Jeff Stanley and Aaron Eddington.

Amy Garner is serving as the general manager, and Reutiman said Chris Garner was the one who originally approached the others with the idea after getting to know the previous owner, Ed Osman, through Garner’s work as a financial adviser.

As far the name, Reutiman said, “Amy went to Old Miss; there’s a bar down there called The Library and that gave her the idea for this concept.”

While the building was constructed as a schoolhouse in the early 1900s, it has been used for food and beverage service for nearly 50 years. Prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate, Dick Durbin was one of 10 investors who bought the building in 1976 and converted it to a bar and music venue. It was later sold to David and Nat Radwine and then Paul Moriconi Sr., who operated it as Bootleggers Tavern for more than two decades. The business changed hands again in 2010 and the new group of investors branded it as Crows Mill Pub.

The building is still owned by Wietekamp Holdings LLC, according to Sangamon County tax records. Scott Wietekamp, a Springfield firefighter, purchased the business in 2014. A fire in August 2016 extensively damaged the building but Wietekamp renovated the property and reopened in May 2017.

Reutiman said the new owners plan to have a “different atmosphere from what it was.” There are all new TVs, and “sports is a big component,” he said. Football and basketball games are already a highlight, and plans call for starting up a bocce league in the spring.

Live music will return, although Reutiman said he anticipates “more rock.” There will also be food available, with pizza as a prominent feature, given the new business name. The pizza has an artisan-type crust and is available whole or by the slice.

“We haven’t finalized the menu yet, but there will be various sandwiches, meatballs and cheesy bread,” Reutiman said. “Once we get the food going, we’ll open at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. There’s still a lot in the works.”