Carl reports from the city commission meeting this evening that the commissioners approved an alcoholic license for “The Grange Public House” at 426 W. Ponce, which we all know was previously “The Angel”.  A check of the city commission meeting agenda for tonight confirms it.  There’s even a website setup, but no real info yet.

I wonder where the name comes from…

In case you missed ‘em, responses to the previous post gave us a lot more details about this new Irish pub and its new owner, Darren Alexander Comer.

Additionally, Parker’s On Ponce also got its alcohol license tonight.

Two great Decatur eating spots finally getting filled!

In another post, Scott points out this vote at the Decatur city commission meeting on April 17th and wonders whether this means The Angel is reopening with a different “concept” under the same name.

“On a motion by Commissioner Kemp, second by Commissioner Boykin, and all voting “aye”, issuance of an alcoholic beverage license for the retail sale for consumption on premises of beer and wine and spirituous liquors to Darren A. Comer for The Angel at 426 West Ponce de Leon Avenue was approved. “

Seems like we made enough noise about The Angel and Derek Lawford Pubs for the AJC to sit up and take notice.

Today’s paper confirms many of the rumblings we have heard about the metro chain over the past month or so and notes the “local blogs” that have been so vocal about it. (That’s us!…with the help of Around Midtown reporting on the other closed location, Prince of Wales.)

So, which “rumblings” did the article get clarity on?

1. Prince of Wales and The Angel are closed. However, the company is still contemplating reopening The Angel as a “chef-driven restaurant”. (That’s why Karen at The Chocolate Bar was rebuffed when inquiring about the space.)

2. All Derek Lawford Pub locations were closed at the beginning of the year due to expired liquor licenses. Only The Angel and Prince of Wales didn’t eventually reopen.

3. The pubs’ parent company has serious money problems. Here’s an except…

“[Co-owner Steven] Welch and four of the pubs are being sued by the lender, Kennesaw-based AdvanceMe Inc., that claims it is owed more than $565,000, according to court documents. Welch disputed the claims in the lawsuit, saying they are without merit.

The federal government says that another business owned by Welch and his partner owes more than $1.5 million in back taxes since 2002. That entity, Derek Lawford Co., filed for bankruptcy protection two weeks ago. Welch declined to talk about the bankruptcy other than to say he’s challenging the figure.”

Welsh also says in the article that he misread the Decatur market as a place for singles (like VA-Hi), when in fact we’re a community of tea-totaling soccer dads and moms. (Yeah, I think the Brick Store’s success alone negates this rationale. In fact, the Brick Store might be a big part of why The Angel couldn’t survive.)

Up until now, I’ve held back (for the most part) on giving my opinion on The Angel’s closing since we were dealing with a lot of rumors and speculation. But now that the AJC has been kind enough to do some digging (seriously, thank you AJC) I’m ready to get it all out there.

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That’s what Karen @ The Chocolate Bar was told when she inquired about the availability of the building, according to the intrepid Rus.

This news after Carl informed us a few days back that both Hand in Hand and Fox and Hounds had reopened.

So perhaps Derek Lawford Pubs will indeed come back from the brink and in the end Prince of Wales will be the only victim.

But then why put a sign on the door that says “closed indefinitely”?  Why not use a slightly less daunting word like, say “temporarily”?  Maybe its just a British English vs. American English thing?