SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Pure coincidence. And love of the Fighting Irish.
That’s how two lifelong local residents describe the unexpected similarities of their two Notre Dame-themed bars. Bars each always dreamt of opening.
Rick Ruszkowski, a South Bend native and an ’85 LaSalle High School graduate, opened Finnies Next Door on April 15 at 233 S. Main St., at the corner of Wayne Street in downtown South Bend.
Ruszkowski fondly remembers attending home games from the time he was 8. His family always had field passes because his dad was a South Bend police officer in charge of Notre Dame Stadium.
Years later, Ruszkowski also became a South Bend policeman. But he retired in 2008 after being shot in the line of duty and suffering from a chronic nerve condition.
He decided to pursue his business ambitions with wife, Chrissy, in a former two-story Horizon Bank building. After securing investors, the renovation took nearly three years to complete.
A 13-foot-tall Golden Dome is featured in the middle of the main bar at Finnies, which holds about 575 people and offers live music three nights a week. The kitchen should be completed this summer, when Finnies will launch a full menu and open an outdoor patio.
“I can’t sing and I can’t dance, but I’m learning to deejay,” Ruszkowski says. He feels lucky to be located a block north and east of the South Bend Cubs and Four Winds Field. “I think downtown is on the verge of something very special and we want to be part of it.”
Just two days after Finnies opened its doors, another Irish fan opened a much smaller neighborhood pub in Granger. Pat’s Irish Pub, located at 12634 Indiana 23, is also decked out in floor-to-ceiling Notre Dame memorabilia.
Even the walls of the former Overtime Sports Bar & Grill were painted in the colors of Ireland’s flag.
Owner Pat McCullough II, a ’92 Penn High School graduate, says he has attended every Notre Dame home football game since he was in fourth grade.
For the last several years, he has been known to throw quite the tailgate. McCullough hosted hundreds of people and even featured live bands at his black bus that’s parked near the corner of Twyckenham Drive and Ivy Court.
“I’m good at entertaining and enjoy taking care of people,” he says. “My tailgate definitely pushed me into opening the pub. Now I feel like we’re having a tailgate every weekend.”
Pat’s Irish Pub, which seats about 90, has proven so successful so quickly that McCullough is planning to expand into the adjacent space. Naturally, he hopes to complete the family dining addition before fall football.
A sign above the circular bar with green countertops characterizes the feeling McCullough hopes to re-create for customers.
“Every day’s a home game.”
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Source: South Bend Tribune, https://bit.ly/1QTXapO
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Information from: South Bend Tribune, https://www.southbendtribune.com
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