The Legal Eagle pub on Chancery Place, which has remained empty since it closed in 2012, will re-open next February after undergoing refurbishment.
It had been acquired by Brian Montague in partnership with restaurateur Elaine Murphy - who own and operate Ormond Quay's The Winding Stair - back in 2014 with plans to open it up as a gastropub, reports the Dublininquirer.com.
However, other new business ventures such as The Woolen Mills, which "was a much bigger project than we’d anticipated" and The Washerwoman in Glasnevin, as well as addressing structural issues in the Legal Eagle, resulted in the pub's re-opening being delayed.
"We’re doing extensive works to the roof because there was a bit of dry rot. The building is hundreds of years old. We’re not making any structural changes to the building, we’re not losing anything internally. We’ve started by doing an internal refitting, decoration job. There’s no extension going on, there’s no partition," said Montague.
There were plans to re-open the pub for Christmas but "you really need to be open two or three months so as you’re operationally shot," added Montague.
