Irish sports bar opens in Midlothian

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

JP Flannery's opened last month at 4025 W. 147th St. in Midlothian.

Co-owner Jim McAuliffe called the new pub, which opened on Sept. 22, an "Irish sports bar."

Although McAuliffe is part of the family that operates Durbin's restaurants across the south suburbs, he said PJ Flannery's is not affiliated with the chain.

McAuliffe said his partner is Robin Flannery and the idea for PJ Flannery's was his and hers.

"We came up with the idea for an Irish sports bar," he said and PJ Flannery's definitely fits that description.

The bar is about 4,400 square feet and has indoor table seating for 22 and seating for 35 at the bar. There's also an outdoor patio that has bar seating for 16 and table seating for 55.

The pub features pool tables, dart machines, Golden Tee golf game, hockey game and a bowling game. Patrons can also play bags on the patio. Leagues are forming.

And like any good sports bar there are big screen televisions. Sixteen of them. All 65 to 75 inches.

Video gaming machines are coming, McAuliffe said. "The state has to sign off on the license. It takes about  a month after you open."

PJ Flannery's also has food.

"It's good bar food," he said. "We have pizza, burgers, appetizers and salads." There are free appetizers and a free pizza buffet at halftime during Bears games.

While there's no private party room, McAuliffe said they could accommodate parties on the patio.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

For information, call 708-926-9662 or visit them on Facebook.

Champps closes in Orland Park

Three Champps sports bars in Illinois closed at the end of August including the location at 16165 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park. Also closed were Champps locations in Lombard and Schaumburg.

Last Call Guarantor LLC, the corporate parent for the Champps locations as well as Fox & Hound sports bars, closed 25 locations nationwide at the end of August as part of a deal to keep the company solvent long enough to be sold. Three Fox & Hound locations in Aurora, Schaumburg and Arlington Heights remain open.

Last week, Fun Eats and Drinks LLC, a subsidiary of San Diego-based investment firm Kelly Investment Group, bought Last Call for $26.8 million at a U.S. bankruptcy court auction.

The building is now for lease.

It was the second time a sports bar in that location was closed because of a bankruptcy. A Fox & Hound sports bar closed Nov. 30, 2014, before reopening Dec. 3, 2014, as a Champps.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

You can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at www.southlandbusinessnews.com and www.southlandsavvy.blogspot.com