The auction notice listed everything from the pub’s oven, freezer and dishwasher to flat screen televisions, cash registers and a credit-card swiping machine as sale items.
SPRINGFIELD – The shamrocks were still hanging at O’Brien’s Corner Monday, corn beef was still on the lunch menu and Guinness beer was still an option for the 8 a.m. breakfast crowd.
Despite rumors to the contrary, one of the city’s best-known Irish bars remains open, with no plans to close anytime in the future, bartender Patty Wholley said Monday.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Wholley said around 1:30 p.m., after the lunch regulars had finished their meals and gone back to work.
A public auction notice posted in the Sunday Republican suggested otherwise.
The 100-seat restaurant, bar and lounge at 1082 Page Blvd. was to be auctioned off April 3, with land, building, equipment and furnishings to be sold on the premises, according Aaron Posnik Auctioneers and Appraisers of Springfield.
The auction notice listed everything from the pub’s oven, freezer and dishwasher to flat screen televisions, cash registers and a credit-card swiping machine as sale items.
A spokesman for Posnik Monday said the auction had been canceled, but would not elaborate.
Wholley acknowledged that the pub had been dealing with “obstacles” in recent weeks, without offering specifics.
“We’ve overcome the obstacles, and we had a very good St. Patrick’s Day,” she said.
The fate of the 28-year old pub was subject of speculation in recent weeks as rumors that its founder, Brian O’Brien, was leaving the business.
Neither O’Brien, 71, nor his partner, Daniel J. Roncalli of East Longmeadow, could be reached for comment Monday.
For regular customers, losing the pub would be bad enough, but losing it less than 24 hours after St. Patrick’s Day would have been intolerable, said Angela Baxter of Springfield.
“This place is our home away from home,” said Baxter, whose first visited the pub with her parents for lunch when she was 16.
Jose Diaz, a city police officer, said the 8 a.m. opening time is especially attractive for people working the overnight shift.
“You see AMR (the American Medical Response ambulance service) workers, nurses, doctors, police officers, firemen here,” said Diaz, who also works overnight.
“That’s our 5 p.m.,” he added.
“It’s our Cheers,” Baxter added.