Liam gets his bar after 28 years at Stores
AFTER 28 years working at the Centenary Stores, Liam Sinnott is about to open his own pub, the newly and appropriately renamed Sinnott’s Bar, Distillery Road. Liam said it was a case of ‘out with the old, in the with new’ at what was formerly the Gaelic Bar.
‘I’m delighted to say that I have now finalised the purchase of the Distillery Bar and I am officially the proud owner,’ he said.
‘I’ve had 28 great years at The Stores and this was very much a big part of my life, but now it’s time for the next chapter,’ said Liam, who lives with his family in Barntown.
Liam says his new family-oriented pub will be a family affair for him as well, with son Jack who has just finishing his Leaving Cert ‘giving us a hand’, his wife Jenny joining him once the business is properly up and running, and daughter Shauna practising making by Padraig Grant some scones for the regulars.
He said it was going to be a big wrench to leave the Stores, although there will be at last one familiar face joining him from Charlotte Street, in the shape of Paul Scanlon, who has worked alongside him for 20 years, becoming the new pub’s manager.
‘I started to work in the Stores straight after my 18th birthday, so there’s no secret about me age,’ said Liam, putting the finishing touches to the new love in his life. ‘But I’ve been working on the project for a while and when the opportunity came around, I decided to make it happen this time around.’
‘I looked at the Gaelic about 10 or 12 years ago, but I just didn’t get there at that time,’ he said.
Liam said he had been negotiating for the Distillery Road premises since 2015 and finally took them over last Thursday.
‘It’s going to a tough goodbye, but it’s now or never.. I don’t want to look back in 10 years and wish I had Picture done it,’ he said.
Liam said he was both excited and nervous about the opening of the pub, which he hoped would happen this week.
A group of women line dancers are already booked on Wednesday night, so work is taking place at a frantic pace.
Asked about the highlight of his 28 years at the Stores, Liam recalled winning the Bartender of the Year award in the early ‘90s, but said every day was a highlight. ‘It’s a highlight for me having worked for 28 years and still having a job too, and there have been so many people coming through the doors.
‘There were people working with me in the Stores when I first started and now their children are working for me.’
The pub’s new Facebook page went up on Wednesday night and within a few hours already had more than a 1,000 views.