WRIGLEYVILLE — O'Hagan's is returning to the neighborhood.
The Irish pub, 3374 N. Clark St., formerly known as a hangout for Irish construction workers, will soon be revived by another crew from across the pond.
Garrett Diamond and Conor Kelly, who currently own Halsted Harp in Lincoln Park, want to return O'Hagan's bar to its neighborhood glory, with plans for a December opening, Diamond said. Their friend Marian Demus, a regular at Halsted Harp, will be helping as an investor.
"Being Irish ourselves, being familiar with the location ourselves, we thought it was definitely something we could revive," Diamond said.
Diamond and Kelly met 13 years ago while working at Four Farthings Tavern & Grill, 2060 N. Cleveland Ave., in Lincoln Park. Both were in town for the summer from Ireland, part of the regular group of Irish students that invade Chicago each summer with J-1 work visas.
Diamond fell in love with the city and, eventually, with a woman who is now his wife. Kelly stuck around, too, and four years ago, the duo decided to buy their own bar, Halsted Harp, 2138 N. Halsted St.
They also looked for new opportunities. O'Hagan's closed last year due to legal troubles, and Diamond and Kelly thought they could put some life back into the neighborhood bar, Diamond said.
Most of the former O'Hagan's feel will stay, Diamond said. They'll be keeping the original bar, which was transported from Ireland 10 years ago, and freshening up the space with paint, he said.
Some flavor from Halsted Harp will be migrating over, such as weekly Irish music sessions, trivia, karaoke or particular DJs. They also want to "up the game" on food, though the menu is still being worked out, Diamond said.
But the big aim is to get that traditional, Irish bar feeling back.
"There are a lot of bars in Wrigleyville that are busy for six months," Diamond said. "O'Hagan's got good business from the Irish community. That's kind of what we're hoping to revive."
