O’Conner’s Irish Pub expanding with new Springfield event space

O’Conner’s Irish Pub is looking to get more creative by increasing its space at its northside Springfield location.

“We are expanding. We obtained the building and space connected to us,” said co-owner Tina Reed Ramsey. “We are just trying to get more creative. Since the coronavirus, things are just different.”

The pub is expanding into the building space that is connected to its building. Ramsey said when it became empty a couple of months ago, she and her brother and co-owner, Terry Reed, Jr., talked about having an extra venue space with a stage.

The new space will be for events that don’t interrupt the dining room, Ramsey said. The space will be used as a venue that can be rented out for events such as music and bands, wedding receptions, reunions, baby showers, parties, open houses, meetings, alcohol and liquor tastings, and tournaments.

“The space will be for people to rent. When not rented out, we could use it for bands, tournaments and more. Just different things people can do that doesn’t affect the dining,” she said.

The new space is about the size of the dining room, which can hold more than 300 people. People will be able to get to the space through a separate entrance or through O’Conner’s dining room.

The space is not set up yet, but Ramsey said she hopes to open in December.

“We had material setbacks due to COVID, and the contractor can’t get his hands on some things,” she said.

Although the space isn’t open yet, they are currently booking for bands to start in the new space. Bands will also continue to play in the current space.

To help with the new space, the pub is hiring full and part-time servers. They have 25 staff members, but are looking to hire three or four more.

O’Conner’s Irish Pub, 2200 N. Limestone St., is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and is closed on Sundays.

For more information, visit O’Conner’s Irish Pub on Facebook.

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