Patrick O'Shea's - Louisville, KY

123 W. Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202

osheaslouisville.net

Opened in 2010, this Irish pub nearly met its end in July 2015 when a three-alarm fire that burned Louisville, Kentucky's Whiskey Row raged only feet away.

“We had firefighters on our roof; we were on the phone calling the insurance company,” said owner Tom O’Shea.

Luckily, the damage was only two days of mandatory closure.

Part of the city’s Main Street Revitalization project, O’Shea has also dealt with what he describes as a “construction war zone” as six years of rehabbing historic buildings and revitalizing the area continues.

O’Shea’s family spent $3.6 million on their rehab. (A pittance compared to neighbor Old Forester Distillery’s $45 million project.) Revealed and exposed throughout the restaurant were 150-year-old hardwood floors and preserved brick walls.

Patrons favor the fish and chips, hand-ground burgers and more than 24 craft beers on tap. The 17,500 square feet also accommodates numerous private parties and corporate events.

It’s a grand evolution from Mary’s Chateau, a smaller venue with Cabaret-style entertainment and great libations that Tom O’Shea’s Irish immigrant grandmother, Mary, opened across town when she moved to Louisville, KY in 1958.  Tom’s father, Kevin, eventually took over the business and then handed it down to his sons. They now own this restaurant and another, O’Shea’s Irish Pub, on Baxter Avenue.