The Downtown artists’ district, long an entertainment-deprived area, will at least have one spot where one can quaff a pint of Guinness and listen to some old Irish music. A developer has received final approval for a restaurant space in a bar he’s trying to finish for the end of September.
“It’s a WALDO-type thing,” said developer Mike Ryan. “We’ll have guitarists come in.”
The new P.J. Ryan’s Irish-English Pub had hearty support from the planning board Tuesday night.
“I look forward to stopping there on my way home soon,” said member Vincent Frank.
Situated on the corner of First Street and Luis Munoz Marin Blvd., the four-story building houses residences on its top two floors and offices on the second.
Ryan is working to get the bar open by Sept. 30, and hopes the restaurant is ready by St. Patrick’s Day, 2001. While voting to pass the restaurant plan, member Jon Tooke remarked, “the natural location for Restaurant Row is on Marin Blvd.,” not Newark Ave. Restaurant Row stretches up Grove Street and Newark Ave.
Ryan also owns the Coles Street Caf