Jedidiah Friday, January 18, 2008

Night Life

Fancy A Pint:  Landmark Tavern To Open in Raleigh

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Irish pubs.  Downtown Raleigh has a handful of restaurants/bars that attach this “slogan” to the end of their name, but are they “public houses” in the true sense of the word?  Most of them are massive, serve pseudo-Irish food, and are more like mazes than the shotgun bar space that most authentic Irish pubs are known for in Ireland and the UK.  The James Joyce in Durham is one of the few spaces in the Triangle that actually resembles a true Irish pub (clientele: career drinkers, locals and raconteurs), but then again it is owned by an Irish lad.  The newly finished Smoking Times is another such bar.  Historically, the public House is synonymous with neighborhood bar and Raleigh needs more of these.  When The Landmark Tavern opens today, Raleigh may gain just that, a big city pub with the small town atmosphere.

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Located in the recently renovated and LEED Platinum Heilig Levine Building complex, The Landmark Tavern will open its doors to locals today at 4pm.  At approximately 80 people, the capacity of the space is small.  This could lead to either crowding or a nice intimate space, let’s hope it’s the latter.  Manager Shelby Bacchus, husband of local rocker Richard Bacchus, said that the tavern will not serve proper food, only beer, wine, cocktails and “bar snacks.”  This is typical for many pubs in the UK and Ireland.  Most are focused on futbol, drinking and chatting up friends. 

Herein lies a problem.  In Raleigh, North Carolina (Thx RR) if you do not serve food, but do serve alcohol, the bar must require a “membership.”  Therefore, The Landmark, as it will probably be called, will require a membership for entrance.  This shouldn’t hinder too many locals as the membership is a quick survey of the essentials (address, phone number, etc) and your card comes as a plastic key chain which will fit right between your VIC and Public Library Cards.  Considering it opens at 4pm daily and is in the center of the Central Business District, on what we’ll call Hatem’s Corner, it will probably be full almost all opening hours (4pm - 2am).

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The interior of the bar is full of wooden booths, chairs and tables, again matching the aesthetics of the typical Irish pub.  Stained glass, “antique” light fixtures above the bar and smoke filtration fans act as the rest of the decor.  At the back of the space is a door to the exterior.  Bacchus stated that it will, in the near future, lead to an outside patio.  The patio will be located in a great open-air courtyard of the Heilig Levine building, which one of the hidden gems of urban space in downtown.  A patio/beer garden is another aspect of the Irish pub, and once summer is here the overflow from the interior will have space to spill out into the sunny courtyard.  And what about the pub street sign?  Will we see Sir Walter’s face hanging from the facade soon?

Winter is the perfect time to open a new bar.  The rain, sleet and cold weather chases pedestrians inside for warmth and what better what to spend a cold day than with a Guinness and a mate.  It may not be authentic Irish, and could end up being a bit smoky and crowded.  But from the looks of it, this new pub is sure to be an essential landmark for meeting friends and spotting downtown regulars.

Another Guinness Please!

UPDATE:  New Raleigh was able to visit The Landmark Tavern on Friday and it was packed out the front door from 6pm until…. It will be five dollars per year for a membership.  Beers on tap included Guinness, Bell’s Amber Ale, Old Speckled Hen, PBR, and Big Boss’s Brown Penny (to name a few).  A full selection of bottle beers, wine and liquor is also available. A diverse crowd filled the space and the bartenders seemed to managed things well on the first night.  The Landmark looks to be a hit.



The Landmark Tavern
117 E. Hargett Street
Raleigh, NC

P (919) 821-9865
Brendan O’Reilly
Monday - Sunday 4pm - 2am

Read More: Night Life, Other posts by Jedidiah.

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  • RaleighRob01/18 01:22 PM

    Minor correction. 
    You say:  “In Raleigh, if you do not serve food, but do serve alcohol, the bar must require a “membership.” “

    That’s actually a North Carolina law.  (Same as law that requires liquor sold at ABC stores.)
    Raleigh the city had nothing to do with that.  wink

  • ES01/18 09:48 PM

    “Manager Shelby Bacchus, husband of local rocker Richard Bacchus…”

    I guess we now know who wears the pants in the Bacchus household!

  • Kermit01/20 07:17 AM

    Guinness, player, GuinNess.

  • dax01/22 03:20 PM

    Landmark is great!
    Nice layout. Great beers. Good staff. Cigar friendly.
    What more can you ask for??
    Oh yeah, it opens at 4pm…........Beautiful!

  • Jim01/22 06:27 PM

    I’m sorry, but am I in the minority when I say that Raleigh has WAY too many “irish pubs” per capita?  In downtown/glenwood alone there are at least four: napper tandy’s (it’s painful to even write that name), the hibernian, tiranog, and now this place.  Is the market this big for irish pubs?  I’m just tired of the gimmick.

  • smitty01/25 05:11 PM

    Just went the other night. Agree with Dax on this one. And it’s not sooo Irish. Just a great pub with a few Irish things here and there. A great alternate to Raleigh Times.

  • erin02/05 02:44 PM

    we went here on friday night.  the crowd was too old and we ultimately left as soon as we finished our first beers.  it may have been an influx of first friday crowd but it wasnt a place for me.

  • salley02/05 05:08 PM

    i just turned 30 and had a swell time there on friday and several nights since landmark opened. this may be the first time i’ve ever been referred to as old!

  • Kristine04/25 12:07 PM

    To be a true Irish Pub there would be NO SMOKING indoors - now there’s a new concept Raleigh…

  • Alison05/21 07:33 PM

    We went there on Saturday after a walk around Artsplosure and were hoping to get a beer and a small snack.  I am surprised that they are charging a $5/year cover when a decent beer is already more pricey than normal (read: $5 for a Blue Moon).  Regardless of the atmosphere, I don’t think I’d be able to afford to hang out here very often.

  • Emily05/22 01:07 AM

    What is up with that 5 dollar charge? I got a free membership but it’s always a little weird if I take a friend there.  I can’t expect them to pay that for a bar they’ll go to once.  Why isn’t it a dollar like everyone else?  Anyone have any ideas?
    PS- I do like it there a lot and am well on my way to making it my home bar.

  • Anna07/11 01:14 PM

    There is no cover charge to get into the Landmark.  They have great beer on tap and a great atmosphere, and to top it off their patio is open!  Go check it out, it is definately worth the trip downtown.

  • paperclip07/13 04:00 AM

    Landmark is a great addition to downtown. I don’t think it was ever ment to be an Irish Pub at all. Just a bar that is slick with some locals who work and drink and hang out. I like it.
    I go downotown now to hang at the times, landmark, slims and just live. Good stuff I think.

  • Jim09/14 11:28 PM

    Something like Landmark looks like just what Kinston needs down on Herritage Street.  How many does it seat and what is its capacity?

  • Kevin09/15 01:07 AM

    Interesting, both Napper Tandy’s and The Hiebernian are owned by Irish lads and it seems like a bit of marketing went into this article to infer otherwise. No idea who they are but Bacchus is a far cry from an irish name. Being Irish myself, I agree that the Irish bar demographic is a bit over the top in the area but Nappers specifically gears itself towards being a sports bar (with good irish food) that happens to be irish owned. Nice thing about irish ownership is that during hot sports (rugby & soccer) periods of the year, we get our fix. This bar doesn’t look at all like an irish bar..so the only claim to being more irish like seems to be it’s lower capacity which in my opinion is not a selling point. I’ll be checking it out though. Its all about service and atmosphere for me.

  • medicinewheel810/04 06:11 PM

    Love the place!  Wonderful wines, great beers!  Can’t ask for much more than that. This is now MY place to go and take friends!

  • Matt & Katie10/12 06:05 PM

    We LOVE Landmark! I’d be there daily if I could afford it.

  • grandmasterflam11/04 01:19 AM

    the Landmark doesn’t sell, nor has it sold Blue Moon.
    $5 is not a cover charge, it’s a yearly membership fee which is compulsory when food is not served.
    it’s not an irish pub, it’s a public house.

    and Guinness IS good for you.

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