Dublin’s original Irish Pub, Shenanigans is now under construction and owners Mark and Mindy Gardner and Carmen and Karl Andersen are excited about what the future may hold.
The pub will be located at 112 S. Grafton Street next to The Majestic, an upcoming old Hollywoodstyle event center.
“Shenanigans was always part of the plan for the Majestic,” Carmen said.
Sept. 4 will be the pub’s soft opening with specialized private invite nights before that to get menu opinions on a smaller scale.
Carmen said they anticipate having a teacher’s night, media night, fire departments and a night geared for city and county officials before their soft opening.
Aside from an Irish pub being a great fit in the Irish Capital of Texas, Mindy said the dream started with her husband wanting to open a beer garden upon retirement, even launching a YouTube channel ‘Your favorite beer snob’ as a way to engage with people about new and different beer offerings.
“Originally it was off the table because it would be so much work in retirement and you would have to be there all the time,” Mindy said. “But we kept it in the back of our mind and when the opportunity to partner with Karl and Carmen arose we decided to shift gears.”
Carmen said after spending lots of time with other cities, EDCs, city council, mayors and such, they felt like an Irish pub was a good fit.
“Being as we have such a large investment in downtown Dublin, this is both of ours’ entire retirement. We wanted to be successful in this business venture, and entertainment seems to be a big, consistent thing,” she said.
Long term they visualize the whole block as the entertainment district in downtown Dublin.
“The more we have tried and tried and fail, the more we realize that is what this block is going to be good for. Based on parking and demographics,” Carmen said.
Originally, the bar was going to take a backseat to The Majestic, however, after the space became open earlier than anticipated, the friends decided to move the priority to the Irish pub due to its street front location.
“You can’t see The Majestic from the street,” she said. “Both the Majestic and Shenanigans were sister companies – they were always meant to work together.”
So what does that look like in the future? If a comedy night is set at The Majestic, Shenanigans will be open for food offerings as well as beer and wine. No liquor will be served at the establishment.
However, Shenanigans will also have regular hours on its own set on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The food being developed will include standard Pub food but with a ‘Carmen flair.’
One example is a menu item called ‘The Thing’ which is a version of corned beef and cabbage on a cornbread roll with Tomatillo sauce.
Every Thursday night for $10, patrons will be able to get ‘The Thing’, a beer and cobbler.
“We want this to be eclectic and fun with some nostalgia tied in,” Mindy said.
The establishment will be themed with a local heroes wall with first responders and military on it, and there will be a private event saluting heroes.
Those who are interested in following all of the Shenanigans are encouraged to follow the pub on Facebook, and one lucky individual will get to have the first beer at the pub with a commemorative plaque hung in the bar.
The pub will also feature TVs, a place to sit with a friend at the fireplace and even checkers and chess to be played.