American-style sports bar to create 40 jobs in Limerick city centre
FORTY new jobs have been created with the upcoming opening of a new bar in the middle of Limerick. Former Hamptons restaurant boss Robbie Russell has established a new American-syle sports pub, which will boast 20 screens – and also in time, include an indoor crazy golf course.
Hunters Sports Bar opens this Wednesday night in the former Alex Findlater restaurant in O’Connell Street.
Due to the licence it’s operating under, it will initially only be able to serve customers purchasing a meal.
But Mr Russell says he hopes within “eight to 10 weeks” he will be able to open to all customers.
He said: “It's going to be an American diner and grillroom restaurant. It's going to be doing gourmet burgers, hot dogs, steaks, ribs and wings. Then we have an American dive bar at the very back, which will have an eight-by-four American poll table, darts board and a small games room.”
There’ll also be a cocktail bar to boot.
Mr Russell added he identified the need for a sports bar based on his own experiences.
“I was the general manager for the last 14 years in Hamptons, and any time I was going out for a sporting event in Limerick, I always struggled to find a real venue which especially provided good quality TV screens and plenty of them, and also somewhere you can have good food as well,” he explained.
With 20 large screens showing three different sporting events at the same time, the businessman says the bar will create 40 new jobs.
Three different pub brands will exist in the outlet – the existing Bar Alexa, Hunters Sports Bar, and the Bunker which will house a crazy golf course.
Almost €750,000 has been invested in the project.