Downtown Springfield restaurant closes, sells to new owner

Bullpen Sports Bar in downtown Springfield opened in October.

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey

The Bullpen Sports Bar in downtown Springfield has closed about four months after it opened, and a new owner reportedly will remodel the space and offer Mexican food there.

Sandy Hamilton, who owned the Bullpen restaurant with her husband, Mark, said they closed it and sold it on March 1.

The restaurant opened in October 2022 in the former space of The Fountain on Main, which closed Aug. 31 after 19 years.

Hamilton said they sold the business because of some health and family issues, as well as coming across a good offer. She added that keeping up with their children and school was also becoming too much.

“We had a good offer, the money was there, so we sold it,” she said.

The new owner is going to remodel to turn it into a Mexican restaurant with some kind of spin to it, Hamilton said, but she was not sure of the exact details of what the new owner will do or when they will open.

The business had about 9 employees and was doing fine with getting and keeping customers, she said, other than up and down struggles from COVID-19 and inflation.

The Bullpen served “anything but chicken,” featuring a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Hamilton said they may try to continue catering, but she is unsure at this time.

Hamilton and her husband also previously owned The Ole Brick Tavern on Mechanicsburg Road in Springfield for nearly eight years before selling in March 2022.

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