SYRACUSE, NY -- The short, tumultuous history of the Talisman Tap Room in downtown Syracuse is over.

The craft beer-centric bar and restaurant at 253 E. Water St. opened in August 2018 in the location that had operated as J.Ryan’s Pub. J.Ryan’s had abruptly closed the previous March.

A year later, Talisman suffered the same fate. The bar did not open for business Sunday.

“I’m done,” owner Bob Carvotta said today while cleaning out the space. “I have nothing else to say.”

Carvotta owns the building at 253 E. Water St. and was the landlord for J.Ryan’s, which was operated by his daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Alex Bielecki. Staff at J.Ryan’s said at that time of the closing that the landlord -- Carvotta -- had terminated the lease.

Talisman struggled to attract business after its August opening due, at least in part, to a boycott effort from former J.Ryan’s regulars and bartenders. They blamed Carvotta for J.Ryan’s sudden closure and the firing of bartenders and other staff.

Former J.Ryan’s fans also posted false negative reviews on the Talsiman Facebook page, attempting to make it difficult for the new bar to get off the ground. They derided the new bar as the “Taliban Tap Room.”

Someone even taped up several yellow signs around the bar in late September that said “Talisman Closed” in all caps, telling passersby not to spend money there following owner Bob Carvotta’s “unfathomable actions” in closing J Ryan’s. The sign also had a phone number for angry customers to call and complain.

Carvotta’s role in the property goes back to the early days of the “micro” and craft beer revolution in Syracuse. He and his brother, Rick, first opened a branch of the Rochester-based MacGregor’s Grill & Tap Room at that location in 1996, when the craft competition downtown was limited to Clark’s Ale House and The Blue Tusk.

When MacGregor's closed, the pub operated under different ownership as Kelly Cole's Improper. In 2009, Carvotta oversaw the reopening as J. Ryan's, with the license held by Alex Bielecki.

Now, there are plenty more bars serving craft beers downtown. In the Hanover Square area alone, they include such places as The Evergreen, Maxwell’s, Orbis and Wolff’s Biergarten, which is across Water Street from the Talisman.

At Talisman, Carvotta offered slightly fewer taps than the 69 J.Ryan’s had, and what he called an “upgraded” food menu.

Staff writer Patrick Lohmann contributed to this report.

Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.