Pub Log

The highly anticipated Jake O'Connor's Public House opened in Excelsior a couple weeks ago, and I got my chance to try it out Sunday evening. A friend was meeting me there at 4, delayed due to a poorly timed New Year's Eve snowstorm, while I discovered that not only did the pub open at 5 o'clock, but that power was out. Following a few setbacks, we were eventually able to enter, sample the wares, and ogle the surroundings.

Amazing that this place was previously the Excelsior Hardware Store! The bars (upstairs and down) were constructed in Ireland, and the restrooms . . . the restrooms themselves were works of art. My lakeshore neighbors would have coveted these restrooms for their own homes. (We might assume the owners are trying to make up for these restroom ratings.)

While waiting for my friend, I chatted with the owner, also proprietor of O'Donovans in Minneapolis, both of us lamenting the power outage and peering out the window at SUVs and snowplows slip-sliding along snow-covered Water Street. Dermot was his name, and he came complete with authentic red hair and freckles.

To top off the package, we were told that live Irish music will be arriving sometime early this year, presumably imported from O'Donovans.

Consider this my personal invitation to Excelsior and our new, favorite pub (and its restrooms). Cheers, lass and laddies!