by Thomas MacMillan | Aug 4, 2011 8:09 am

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Posted to: Business/ Economic Development, Food, Downtown

Nearly five months after his eponymous Orange Street bar closed due to tax trouble, Christy Mulhall is ready to start serving drinks once again, but no longer as the owner. Now he’s just “the front man.”

That’s how Mulhall described his new role on Wednesday, as he oversaw the pick-up of some old kegs from Christy’s, the popular bar he opened five years ago this month on Orange Street downtown.

He cheerfully described how he sold his bar to two local rugby players who plan to reopen it on Aug. 16. They’re keeping Mulhall on as the face of the operation, he said.

“They’re using me as a front man,” he said. He also described himself, without malice, as “the soccer ball.”

Tools, paint, and a ladder occupied the back section of the bar, which was otherwise populated by chairs stacked on tables. The front curtains were drawn and the bar itself was emptied of liquor bottles.

In his Kilkenny accent, Mulhall said he was picking up the liquor license that afternoon and had the paperwork ready to get a food license.

The publican said he’s dealt with his tax problems. “They took all my money. I have nothing,” he said. “My daughter’s been paying my rent.”

He said he had no choice but to sell the bar. “I couldn’t get out of the hole I was in,” he said. “You need capital when you open a bar.”

Mulhall said the bar will reopen just as before. The only change will be a coat of paint and a new computer system. Christy’s will host live music downstairs and acoustic sessions, or “tostals” at the front of the bar, Mulhall said.

Most of the old staff will return, Mulhall said, with the exception of former manager Colin O’Toole, who’s readying his own Irish pub down the street.

Mulhall said he’ll be happy to have his old regulars return along with the staff. “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone coming home.”

Christy’s patrons have been stopping him on the street and asking him when the bar will reopen, Mulhall said. As he spoke, a man in a red polo shirt stepped in and asked that very question, followed by a request: “Save me a seat!”