There was bad news and good news this week about The Irish Volunteer. The bad news: it was the tenth anniversary of the IV opening but, sadly, the bar closed last summer and was replaced by The Shamrock and that denied me a chance to guzzle ice-cold Tsingtao, destroy all comers at corn toss, and indulge in a stomachache-inducing binge of barbecued chicken nuggets that guy out front used to make. How much more Irish can you get!? (Just kidding, I’ve downed plenty of Guinness during my IV visits.)
Anyway, the good news: The Irish Volunteer 2.0 is on the way. Co-founder George Smith says the partners, including Curt Dracz and Rob Korfage, will open the new IV in the Buddy’s Bar space in Lido. He expects most of April to be spent getting things up to speed ahead of an official relaunch in May. Fans of Buddy’s sibling establishment, Ganges, can rest assured that place will continue on to satisfy their Indian food needs.
The IV was long my neighborhood pub not in my neighborhood. I only got there a few times per year but have fun memories of the place, including watching Canada beat the United States for men’s hockey gold in the 2010 Olympics and the Chicago Cubs winning their first World Series in over a century. Add on the Canada Day parties and Maovember fundraisers, and it was indeed sad when it closed. That was doubly true for those who made it their local.
I’ll update when I get more info, but it sounds like it won’t be long until fans of The Irish Volunteer can hoist a few:
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