The people that brought Duke’s Brewhouse to Plant City are now trying their hand at another business venture: an Irish pub.
Led by General Manager Chuck Jamieson, 1916 Irish Pub is coming to the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World this spring and hopes to make its mark on the area.
“We’ve been working on an Irish pub concept for a long time,” Jamieson said. “This place popped up, and it was a deal that we couldn’t turn down.”
The pub will be located in the Plant City Crossings plaza on Thonotosassa Road, by the Interstate 4 intersection, and will open in either April or May. It has two target audiences in mind: hospitality workers and women.
“We’ll have a place where the hospitality crowd can go right after their shifts,” Jamieson said. “A little better, a little classier than anything anybody’s tried out here.”
The connection between the pub and hospitality workers is straightforward: the pub’s location puts it smack in the middle of an area densely populated with restaurants, such as Buddy Freddy’s, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Jamieson hopes that the people who work at these restaurants will stop by the pub after work to get a drink and unwind.
Jamieson said that he wants the pub to be “women-friendly,” which the pub will try to achieve in its look and feel as well as its drink menu: martinis, wine and a host of custom cocktails will be available, mixing things up from the traditional Irish beer and whiskey.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an Irish pub without that beer and whiskey. Jamieson said that, in addition to carrying a number of craft beers (including Duke’s blonde and brown ales), the pub will offer Irish coffee, imported Irish beers and whiskey that other area bars don’t currently serve.
There will be a light kitchen, offering sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and other snacks, similar to what one could order at a World of Beer or The Brass Tap. The staff will switch up the food menu either daily or weekly, depending on the specials.
“You can have snacks, have a few drinks, watch the game, and there’s live entertainment two nights a week,” Jamieson said.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.