Former Finnegan's location

The Original Public House will open as an Irish bar in the former Finnegan's location on South Parkway in Huntsville. (Lucy Berry | lberry@al.com)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – When the word got out in mid-July that the shell of Finnegan's Pub would become an Indian restaurant, there were mixed reactions from locals who frequented the now closed 37-year-old Irish bar in Huntsville.

Rahul Arora, president of TMRA Consulting in Huntsville, was among longtime customers who were stunned by the sudden closing of Finnegan's on July 6 of last year.

"I didn't understand why," he said. "Even when it was not St. Paddy's Day, when I would come here just to have a beer, there were all these people here. There was a great following for this place."

Arora, who said Huntsville lost a piece of local history when Finnegan's shuttered last summer, said his client plans to open the location as an Irish bar again, complete with a gastropub theme, Irish and southern food, craft beer and liquor.

Russ Russell, whose commercial real estate firm sold the Finnegan's building, told AL.com that the new owner, who is also a local physician, had originally planned to convert the Irish pub into Curry Leaf Indian Restaurant and Bar, which would have been an upscale family eatery.

Arora declined to name his client, who will lease the space and has asked not to be identified at this time. The location, which should open as The Original Public House before St. Patrick's Day on 3310 Memorial Parkway S.W., is currently under construction.

Ongoing renovations include refinishing the bar, upgrading the bathrooms, opening up areas, building new walls, installing more windows to improve the building's natural light, overhauling the kitchen and more, Arora said.

"We've really just gutted the whole thing and started from scratch," he said. "I don't think there's going to be much that's going to be recognizable from the original place."

Arora said conversations about what to do with the former Finnegan's building, which holds about 99 people and is 3,500 square feet, began in November and got "real serious" around Thanksgiving.

The Original Public House will be a non-smoking, more neighborhood-style establishment than Finnegan's was.

"I know the dartboards were really popular with Finnegan's, but we're doing away with them just because that's seating space," Arora said. "I'd rather have people that can enjoy their meals."

Arora said the menu hasn't been finalized, but they are pushing to serve southern-style dishes and Irish favorites with a southern twist.

The hours of The Original Public House have not been set, but the gastropub will likely be open from 3 p.m. to midnight six days a week. USB charging areas will be placed at the bar and along the walls for customers to charge their electronic devices.

Arora also said his client is hoping to partner with the adjacent Regal Hollywood Stadium 18 movie theater to offer a dinner and a movie option to customers.

Finnegan's was formerly owned by Canada resident Nancy Moore, who inherited the property shortly after her sister and Finnegan's founder, Ellen McAnelly, died in June 2009. The location employed seven workers before it closed.

"To see it close was disappointing for a lot of people, so resurrecting it, bringing it back has been a focus of ours," Arora said. "Nobody likes to see a historic part of Huntsville go away. We're not going to do it with the same name, but with the same general concept and then fine-tuning it in our own way."

Arora said the ultimate goal is to expand The Original Public House, which will offer 12 beer taps to start and live acoustic music.

"By no means would we go through trademarking the name if we didn't think this was going to be more than a one location business," he said,

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.



Updated at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 3, 2014 to include more details about the menu.

