Bars in the news; The Red Lion: Old bar to reopen under new name

From the Daily Illini

The Red Lion: Old bar to reopen under new name

The bar formerly known as Station has been undergoing renovations since June. By Saturday, students will finally get to experience the new environment for themselves when The Red Lion opens; but it might not be what they were expecting.

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“We disassembled a 150-year-old barn and brought in the wood to put on the walls. There’s a set of castle doors mounted to the wall by stone to make it look authentic. The back room — it’s called the Dragon’s Room — has a scene from ‘The Hobbit’ painted on the wall. We tried to get that medieval-era feel throughout the bar,” Cochrane said.

(Cochrane is Scott Cochrane)

Along with having live music and a prevalent “old world” theme, Cochrane also wants The Red Lion to cater toward avid sports fans.

Students should expect flat screen televisions around the bar as well as a projection screen playing big sporting events on game days.

Because, when I think of going to an anachronistic bar, the thing I most want (other than shields) is flat screen tv's.

The bar’s grand opening event, called “Oktoberfest,” will also kick off Saturday with the Illinois home football game against Ohio State University. Trippin’ Billies, a Dave Matthews tribute band, will be playing at 4 p.m. and DJs are scheduled to provide music and entertainment throughout the day and night. The bar itself may open before then pending inspection.

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“I’m about to redo Geo’s (Chill & Grill) in Urbana and that will be called Mugshots,” he said. “The new name of FuBar will be divulged very soon but it will be a world pub, I’m trying to work on an international theme with it. I’ll tell you one thing, it will have a beer garden the likes that this town has never seen.”

A "beer garden the likes that this town has never seen", that's a bold statement. Good luck.