LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Imagine it’s your first time buying a bar and it's located in the busiest bar district in town. You’re taking over a great space and the sky's the limit. Next, imagine 13 days after your closing you literally have to close the business.


What You Need To Know

  • St. Patrick' celebrations will take place this year

  • Bars like Flanagan's Ale House and Molly Malone's are prepped for 60% capacity

  • Metro Public Health will have compliance officers working

“For me, it was kind of a funny story,” Drew Borgmann recalls. As a business owner, having a sense of humor is almost mandatory to survive something as devastating as what Borgmann experienced. Less than two weeks after taking ownership of Flanagan’s Ale House on Baxter Avenue he had to shut down for eight weeks. Kentucky, the U.S. and the world were feeling the effects of a pandemic. 

Borgmann said, “It’s been a wild one.”

One year later the owner of this Irish bar can, sort of, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. 

“With the weather picking up, sales are going up and more people are coming in,” Borgmann told Spectrum News 1. With 60% capacity limits Flanagan’s can have about 60 people inside but there’s even more patio space outside. 

On Tuesday half barrels of Guinness and Smithwick’s were being rolled into Flanagan’s and Molly Malone’s across the street.  Members of the Louisville Metro Health Department say there will be compliance personnel checking in on St. Patrick’s Day celebrations throughout the city but do not expect violations and have not received any complaints from this past weekend.

Borgmann says he’s forgoing any live music this year but will have a great Irish playlist and plenty of traditional fare on the menu.

“With more people getting vaccinated and numbers going down, we’re going to do what the CDC and state tell us to do. We’re ready to go”