Irish Pub “Dick Mack’s” Coming To Decatur Square
Decatur Metro | June 30, 2009 | 12:39 pmRus sends in a note found on The Schmacher Restaurant Real Estate Brokers website announcing a new Irish Pub coming to the Square.
New Eats in Decatur: A new concept is coming to the former location of Saba in downtown Decatur. Restaurateur Andy England has purchased the former eatery at 111 Sycamore, St. and will transform it into Dick Mack’s , an Irish Pub, said Steve Josovitz vice president of restaurant brokerage at the The Shumcher Group, Inc.
All due credit, DarenW was first to report on this back when Saba moved to Oakhurst, but now we have a pub name.
I hope they do well and will certainly give it a try, but this doesn’t seem to be a great fit. We’re not lacking in pubs on the square — to state the obvious — and there’s an Irish pub 3 blocks away. I would be very hesitant to open a pub to compete directly with BSP and Leon’s, but who knows, maybe it will work.
There is no such thing as too many Irish Pubs. Erin go bragh!
“A new concept is coming….”
An Irish Pub is hardly a “new concept”. Maybe they mean that there is no “Irish Pub” in that strip, and that to have one there is a “new concept”. If that’s how they will differentiate themselves, I see a short run for them.
I wish them well. Gutsy move to put a “pub” so close to Brickstore and Leon’s. Then again, there is a lot of spillover that could go there. Good luck!
I think what we’re seeing with this is that Decatur is developing a critical mass of nightspots, similar to the Southern end of Va-Hi with Hand in Hand, Limerick Junction, and Dark Horse. Like Va-Hi, we are heavy with traditional bars and pubs, not clubs, places for young professionals and couples to hang out.
Is anyone else thinking pub crawl? How many potential sites do we now have?
Name all the restaurants/pubs within a mile of Decatur Square with draft beer. Go!
I do think that a cluster of good pubs actually can thrive. People from outside the area will think about going out in Decatur as a whole. It becomes a destination by its density. An ersatz pub crawl on a regular basis, so to speak.
I don’t see a working yogurt hub in Decatur, though.
LOL@ “working yogurt hub”– too funny!
Joke or no, though, I’d agree with that last statement.
I’ve done the Decatur crawl a couple of times, and almost detailed it in my prior post. Without bogging down your blog, the key takeaway is that the Square is becoming a nighttime destination due to bars with character like the Brickstore, Zucca, Twain’s, Leon’s, Eddie’s Attic, and now Dick Mack’s. Raging Taco is part of the picture as well.
Add in Taco Mac, Grange, Trackside (finger’s crossed) and Thinking Man’s and you’ve got a town full of interesting bars.
And I’m not even including some of the better restaurant bars, like Depeaux or Parker’s.
It’s a helluva crawl, that’s for sure.
Oh, and Oakhurst is no slouch. Steinbecks, U-Joint, Palate, plus Mezcalitos, Mojo’s, and El Matador.
I think this is a good time to reintroduce Scott’s genius “Pub Shed” map from last August.
Take this to your grave DM….the BSP boys will never be part of a pub crawl.
We will become known as the city of yogurt and beer! They both need microorganisms in their development!
Maybe they should call it Yeast Decatur Station.
Erm, no– that name calls to mind something entirely different! (Sorry– it had to be said.)
PUB CRAWL! I have two proposed routes. The first is the basic, the second is the truly hardcore.
Basic:
Grange, Taco Mac, Leon’s, Brickstore, Twain’s. At one pint per location, that’s 5 pints. After almost a mile walking, if spread out over a couple of hours, you can probably walk home or all decide to go somewhere for another drink.
Hardcore Alcoholic:
Grange, Cakes ‘n Ale, Mellow Mushroom, Taco Mac, Ted’s, Leon’s, Brickstore, Zucca, New Irish Pub on Square, Twain’s, Depeaux, Corner Pub. At one pint per location, that’s 12 pints. Might need to do 1/2 pints. Beware the walk from Depeaux to Corner Pub. Too bad Trackside isn’t open.
Have Pedicab meet at Corner Pub to take people home.
Now we’re talking!
Ultimate Hardcore Alcoholic would also include Tastings, Parker’s and Eddie’s.
I almost included Tastings, but I couldn’t remember if they sold beer (your original requirement was draft beer). Parker’s I didn’t put down because although they have draft beer, I’m sure that 6 – 8 pints into the crawl, Parker’s would be way too nice.
Good call on Eddie’s. Need to add that to the crawl.
Let me know the time/date of the crawl and I will be there. I will start at Taqueria for some queso, tacos and a margarita though. I also really like the idea of the pedi-cab taking me home after the crawl.
Gads, if I tried to do the “Hardcore”, someone would have to pour me into a pedi-cab– even crawling would be out of the question! (I should caveat this by saying that I’d still be game to give it a go…)
i would def crawl the hardcore crawl.
If more young people lived near the square, Decatur would be truly multigenerational and could support all kinds of bars and restaurants. Some Class A rentals on west ponce would be a great addition, in my opinion.
I’ve done lot’s of pub crawls through Decatur with both real and imaginary friends so my route for The First Annual Decatur Metro Pub Crawl:
Raging Burrito, Harry’s Caribbean, Brick Store, * , Taco Mac, * , Grange, * , Tastings, Parkers, * , Leon’s, Dick Mack’s, Twain’s, El Tesoro, Eddie’s Attic … then back to Brick Store. We would need to start early but it shouldn’t take more than 12 hours for 14 beers. Backpacks with water and pre-made sandwiches/snacks will be required for the walks between bars.
*Java Monkey and Dancing Goats added as needed
Yes. Let everyone know the date and time.
I’ll let Decatur Metro set the time and date as he is in charge of the event
But I would assume (if you use my map) it would be after Dick Mack’s opens … but I’m always up for a trial run XD
-R
HEY DM, WE NEED A TRIAL RUN
–you know, to work any kinks out.
This might actually work, even though it’s close to The Grange and the Brickstore. Brickstore has tons of spillover, people waiting to get in and just milling about outside. If there were an Irish option mere yards away, well…can’t hurt, can it?
I like the route rus takes for the pub crawl. It wpuld be great to start with the $3 Sierra Nevada or sweetwaters on tap at Raging Burrito and relax on their big patio to get the party started. and if abyone is able to still walk I would love to finish it up at Brickstore with a cask ale of the month. any dates in mind?
While Rus has a great plan, my liver is already aching just thinking about it. Maybe for the first run (just to get the kinks out) we should follow something closer to MC’s suggestion. How about this, starting around 5 PM on a Saturday (TBD):
BSP, Leon’s, Grange, Taco Mac, Grange, Tastings, Twains’s
Yeah, it’s a long walk from Tastings tp Twain’s, so there could be a stop added in there (Raging Burrito or Eddie’s?). This plan would hopefully overcome the challenge of getting in to BSP & Leon’s, since those places are packed on a Saturday night. By going there first we’d hopefully miss the most crowded times.
Oops, didn’t mean to have Grange in there twice. Try this:
BSP, Leon’s, Taco Mac, Grange, Tastings, TBD, Twain’s
Finishing at Twain’s seems mandatory, since there is nothing better than some fierce foosball competition at the end of a pub crawl.