NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

Contact:     Peggy Blanchard, Director Economic and Community Development
                Village of Barrington

                847-304-3471    

Restaurant/pub and wine bar to come to Barrington Village Center

The Village of Barrington will welcome two new family-owned businesses to its downtown —a restaurant/pub and a wine bar and retailer.

The restaurant/pub, McGonigal’s Pub, will open at 105 S. Cook St., the former Wolf Camera store. The restaurant, which will occupy both levels of the building, will offer traditional Irish food, along with pub fare. Park Avenue Wine Bar and Merchant, to open next door, at 205 Park Ave., will feature both a wine bar and a retail area for fine wine and liquor.

The two businesses are owned and managed by the McGonigal and Berry families, longtime area residents. Dennis McGonigal lives in North Barrington and Naples, Florida; son Bryan McGonigal also lives in North Barrington, with his family; and daughter Melissa McGonigal Berry and her husband Steve Berry live in Barrington with their family.

The owners aim to have the businesses up and running by the end of the year. “We want Park Avenue Wine Bar and McGonigal’s Pub to serve as anchor businesses in the revitalization of Barrington’s village center,” says Steve Berry. “A community like Barrington should have many local options for evening and weekend entertainment, and we think McGonigal’s and Park Avenue Wine Bar will improve local nightlife.

“The Village of Barrington has been very supportive of our businesses. Everyone we have worked with – the Village President Karen Darch, Peggy Blanchard, Jeff Lawler, village inspectors, and Barrington police and fire officials - have been helpful and professional.”

“Our family is very excited about these ventures and we consider ourselves quite fortunate to have acquired such outstanding properties,” added Bryan McGonigal. “I feel that this type of establishment is exactly what Barrington needs.  This is a wonderful community, the opportunities in this town are tremendous, and we hope other businesses follow our lead and set up shop here. Since we started this process, the support we’ve received from Karen Darch and the village has been nothing short of remarkable.  This certainly has been a big influence in our decision to start these businesses in Barrington and move forward with our plans.”

The Cook Street building, added McGonigal, “was originally built in 1911 as the First State Bank of Barrington, but since the 1940’s has a rich history of being popular restaurants. For approximately the past ten years or so, it has been used for retail purposes, and we have quite a bit of work to do to get it back into bar/restaurant form. But I can promise that once done you will not be disappointed.”

For more information on both businesses, visit www.mcgonigalspub.com and www.parkavenuewinebar.com.

***Edited versions of the above release appeared in the Daily Herald***

August 5, 2009:  http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=311780

August 7, 2009:  http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=312453&src=3