EDGEWATER — Nearly a year after a fire ravaged The Pumping Company bar on Broadway, the pub is set to be replaced by another business.
Permits were issued for the building at 6157 N. Broadway in early June to Mouna Sapper, the owner of Taylor Reese Salons, for the renovation of the tavern.
Alterations listed on the permit include work on the burnt and wrecked interior as well as changes to the bar's exterior, like changing the placement of the front door.
Crews were out this week working on the transformation, including knocking out an alley-facing wall.
Sapper, who did not return messages Thursday, owns three other Taylor Reese locations, including one at 45 E. Oak St., one in Lake Forest and one in Highland Park.
In the wake of the fire, which destroyed the inside of the bar as well as caused damage to several of the apartments above it, General Manager Matt Keslar said he'd hoped to reopen as a more family-friendly restaurant within "six to eight weeks" after performing a "total gut-job."
But those plans never came to fruition. Since the fire, the Loyola student staple has sat charred and vacant. Keslar could not be reached.
The former Pumping Company is currently undergoing renovations after a fire swept through the building last year. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
