Here's what's next for Old Point Tavern on Mass Ave.

Old Point Tavern closes Thursday, but its legacy will linger in a refurbished comfort food pub named The Tavern at Old Point, scheduled to open in May.

“We’re going to definitely keep the flavor of the old building,” new owner Mike Cunningham said.

His Cunningham Restaurant Group, operator of popular Bru Burger Bar across Mass Ave. from Old Point and other avenue hot spots Mesh, Livery and Union 50, purchased the 130-year-old tavern in late 2017.

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The tin ceiling and floor will stay. Cunningham will trim the bar’s overhang so that guests can pull their stools closer to the bar top, but he’ll install a “more attractive” back bar.

New glass in the windows will provide better insulation. Fresh furniture and a patio redo are in the works, too.

The kitchen hosting a small gas stove that pipes directly to the outdoors will be modernized for an American food menu that may pay homage to Old Point’s popular chili and nachos. “I’ve had both and they’re pretty darn good,” Cunningham said. Dishes in the $10 to $18 range are under development. Expect “comfort American cuisine. It won’t be steaks and entrees. We’re trying to keep it affordable,” Cunningham said.

Old Point Tavern fans upset that the treasured watering hole was closing went to social media to express concerns that Cunningham Restaurant Group, owner of 17 Indy-area restaurants, was taking over. The 401 Mass Ave. place is a late-night favorite.

“We understand that whole scenario, but it’s too prime of a corner, too good of a real estate to have as a watering hole, kind hole in the wall bar on Mass Avenue, I think. There’s always going to be places like that to go to, and I particularly like those kinds of places. We all do at certain times,” Cunningham said.

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“We’re not building our concept around that anger by any means, but I don’t want people to think that we’re turning it into what a lot of the comments online have been, like ‘Oh, they’re going to turn it into a $30 entrée kind of place,’” Cunningham said. “That’s not what we’re doing at all.”

Cunningham said he and Old Point owners Patti and Chic Perrin have been talking about the bar’s sale since 2016. The Perrins, who have run Old Point since 1990 and retain title to the building, were ready to retire.

"It’s time for us to go. It's been a long run," Patti Perrin told IndyStar in December. "Lots has changed since 1990. It's bittersweet, but we're super excited about the Cunningham Group."

Established in the late 1800s, the bar’s prime location and the building’s charm attracted Cunningham. “We know it’s a great corner,” he said.

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, and on Facebook. Call her at (317) 444-6264.