PEORIA HEIGHTS — Soon, a new bar and restaurant will hang out a shingle boasting a familiar name among Peoria pubs:

Sullivan’s.

More specifically (and lengthily), the joint will be W. E. Sullivan’s Irish Pub & Fare, moving into the space formerly known as Lucky’s Modern Dive, 4538 N. Prospect Road in Peoria Heights. The moniker includes the first and middle initials of proprietor Billy Blasek, plus the surname reflecting his lineage to the family long known for contributions to the local entertainment scene.

“I want to keep the name alive,” says Blasek, who turns 40 this week. “It’d be a shame if someone from out of town came in and grabbed that name.”

For the past 11 years, Blasek has worked as general manager of Kelleher’s Irish Pub & Eatery, 619 SW Water St., owned by uncle Pat Sullivan. The operation is named after Colleen Kelleher, mother of Pat Sullivan and his nine siblings, including Blasek’s mother, Susie.

Before Kelleher’s, Blasek learned the trade from another uncle, Mike “Sully” Sullivan, at his ZZ Pops and Sullivan’s on Main, both at 631 Main St. (now Ulrich’s Rebellion Room). Mike Sullivan, who died in 2010, created and ran a slew of local bars, including Sully's Pub and Cafe, Sullivan Rock Cafe and Sullivan’s Other Planet in Peoria, plus Sully’s Beach Club, Sully’s Irish Pub and Sullivan’s in the Heights.

“I have to give a lot of credit to what I’ve learned from my two uncles,” Blasek said.

Remodeling is ongoing furiously at the former Lucky's, which opened in 2013 as a garage-theme bar and restaurant but closed abruptly last month. Blasek, whose wife Lauren Blasek is co-proprietor, says W.E. Sullivan’s will carry a motif of a rustic Irish pub, somewhat like the former Sullivan’s on Main.

Blasek says he wants to open W.E. Sullivan’s on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, traditionally one of the industry’s biggest days. That debut would feature cocktails, with a food menu added in early December and focusing on Irish dishes. He said the operation will not be as high-end as some of the eateries in the booming Heights restaurant row.

“It’ll be different price-wise from other place in the Heights,” Blasek says.

PHIL LUCIANO is a Journal Star columnist. He can be reached at pluciano@pjstar.com, facebook.com/philluciano and (309) 686-3155. Follow him on Twitter.com/LucianoPhil.