Business & Tech

Bunratty Tavern Projected to Open in Reading in May

The liquor license for the pub was passed at Tuesday's selectmen meeting.

Eilish Havey and her husband Jim will open the Bunratty Tavern in Reading this year. The liquor license for the pub was passed at Tuesday night's selectmen meeting.

The tavern will open at 622 Main Street in the M.F. Charles Building and will accommodate 194 people. The traditional Irish pub will have a full bar and serve "home cooked comfort food," Havey said. All of their meat will be cooked on site and they will have roast beef dinners on the weekends. They will feature live music and an outdoor dining area for warmer months, she said. 

Havey, originally from Ireland and now a North Reading resident, has experience in the restaurant business and has been the controller of a restaurant group in Boston for 19 years, she told Patch. 

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

When asked when they would open for business, Havey said May, "and that is a very rough guess at this point."

Sprinklers are currently being installed inside the M.F. Charles building, which should take about a month, according to Havey. After those are in place the space will be turned over to Havey and her contractor can begin work on the tavern.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Havey hopes that everything goes smoothly so she can open for the summer and customers can enjoy the outdoor patio.

Selectman Ben Tafoya is looking forward to the tavern opening and thinks their approach as an Irish tavern is unique and different to other options in town.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to get another restaurant in the downtown core. I think it's terrific in that it will bring more folks into the downtown core, which will help all of the other businesses there," he said. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here