Irish pub breathes new life into historic firehouse

Kym Soper, Journal Inquirer
10/10/2006

WINDSOR - It's been nine months since inception - and a labor of love for four local friends who brought life back to the historic downtown firehouse this month in the form of an Irish pub.

The Union Street Tavern, sporting an antique mahogany bar from an old Hartford saloon, new red oak floors, and a spattering of Windsor firehouse artifacts, hosted throngs of revelers last week in a much-anticipated opening.

With a capacity of roughly 130, owners say the circa 1920s building located next door to the train station was packed on Friday with all age groups, many of whom watched the renovation progress all summer and wanted to see the end result.

"A lot of people stopped by to see what we did," Timothy Fitzgerald, one of the four owners, said Monday, adding that so far it's been "word of mouth that has brought the crowds in."
An official ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for Thursday, Oct. 19, at 4 p.m.

Longtime friends and basketball teammates in the Ponce de Leon league, Fitzgerald and his co-owners, Mike Deneen, Samir Doshi, and John Ficaro, have sunk significant cash and elbow grease into the new venture.

And they've hired Windsor resident Kevin Farley, who has 25 years experience in the restaurant business, as the general manager.

"It's been emotional," Fitzgerald, a lawyer and former Democratic town chairman, said of the last few months.

The project was only a brief notion between two friends last January when the coffee bar that called the firehouse home for the last four years closed its doors.

Fitzgerald and Deneen said they would put their children on the school bus every morning and solve the problems of the world while standing on the corner, sipping coffee.

"The one thing we couldn't figure out is why there were no good pubs out here that we'd like to go to," Fitzgerald said.

The firehouse, with its glassed-in bay doors leading to an outdoor patio, seemed the perfect location, and the pair quickly worked out a deal to lease the building from the Windsor Fire District Commission.

Built in 1927, the all-brick building at one time housed both the Police Department and the volunteer Fire Department until the Bloomfield Avenue Safety Complex was built in the mid-1960s.

The Hayden Fire Co. formed at that time, and it ran its trucks out the station for a few years, until the Basswood Road firehouse was built.

The building then sat vacant for a number of years, collecting storage from the town's Building Department and housing a fitness center for town employees on the second floor for a time.

In 2002 the firehouse was renovated and opened as an upscale coffeehouse, where locals could listen to live music while sipping cappuccino.

Taking the building to the next step - a full-scale restaurant and bar - took a bit more work.

For two months workers dug out portions of the basement by hand in order to lower the floor to meet building code requirements for the kitchen.

But the furnishings, most of which came from a now closed Park Street bar, give the historic building authenticity.

The booths all have timeworn brass hooks for coats and pegged bead board tables.

A brass foot rail stands ready on the dark wooden bar for guests sitting at the schoolhouse-style seats, while behind the bartender, the rich coffee-red mahogany bar rises up the brick wall in an intricately carved pediment framed with mirrored shelves on either side.

Gone are the couches and gas-lit fireplace in the former lounge in the open loft on the second floor, which has been revamped into a dining room with modest Scandinavian-style chairs.

Umber browns, mustard yellows, and brick reds color the walls and upholstery as an antique fire helmet, firefighter's ax, extinguisher, and watering can for brush fires round out the décor.

"So far it's been received very well," said Fitzgerald, who referred to the last few days as "sea trials with a sub."

There were a few glitches in the computer and some equipment had to be rearranged in the kitchen to make everything flow better.

"But there was nothing disastrous and now everything is ironed out and we're good to go," he said

The restaurant, which serves mainly pub fare ranging from three-alarm tavern wings to grilled swordfish with tropical salsa or Cajun remoulade, is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The full bar remains open to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 a.m. on weekdays.

Within the next month or so the tavern will begin offering live entertainment that will typically consist of one to three acoustic-oriented performers, Fitzgerald said, adding that daily specials will also be coming to the menu soon, as will a Sunday brunch.
For more information or to make a reservation, call 683-2899.

Reader Comments

Added: Saturday October 14, 2006 at 10:14 PM EST A welcome addition The new Pub (Irish or not) is a welcome addition to Windsor - agreat town with far too few good eating options! After several visits, I recommend the burgers, the calamari appetizer and the Tuscan Salad (although rigotta salate instead of the mozzerella and a few sundried tomatoes and a caper or two would have kicked it up a bit). Beer selection is adequate. Would like to see a weekend brunch menu emerge soon with something more breakfasty than the usual fare... overall, a nice place so far - good luck to the new owners!

Steve R, Windsor Added: Tuesday October 10, 2006 at 06:24 PM EST Correction I have eaten there several times and sat at the bar....it's quite a place. I would say though that your article is incorrect in that the Union Street Tavern is more like an American-style restaurant. It's much too classy of a place to be thought of as an irish pub.Joe, Windsor, CT