It’s official: Mary Jo McGuire’s is finally opening its doors in Lincoln Park on Friday, October 17. A sister bar to the iconic Butch McGuire’s on Division Street in the Gold Coast, the new Irish saloon is named after the wife of Butch, the late founder of his eponymous 64-year-old pub.
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The couple met at Butch’s, which she took over after her husband’s passing in 2006. Butch McGuire’s has always been a family-owned operation, with Butch’s son Bobby now at the helm, so it’s fitting that Mary Jo, who passed away in 2021, is getting her own digs.
Mary Jo McGuire’s is taking over the former LP’s T.A.P. House and The Loft, which both shut down earlier this summer, at 2251 N. Lincoln Ave. And, not surprisingly, the two-story saloon is finished in the same green and white hues that Butch’s is known for.
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Mary Jo McGuire's will also serve as the official hub for University of Missouri fans, just as LP’s T.A.P. House was, and will host Mizzou football game watch events in partnership with the university’s alumni association. Since LP’s T.A.P. House closed, Butch McGuire’s and its neighboring Shenanigans bar served as interim game day hubs.
It’s unclear if Mary Jo McGuire’s will also be illuminated by twinkling string lights and dressed in garlands year-round, but based on the immense anticipation leading up to its opening, it seems like it'll be just as popular as Butch McGuire's.