‘A pot of gold’ on the square

It has always been said that at the end of a rainbow, there’s a pot of gold.

If you’re looking for a nook to watch your favorite team go into battle on the gridiron and a place to have a drink with friends, then the new Bloodline Irish Pub in Greenfield might be your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Located at 214 Public Square, Greenfield, just west of the newspaper office, Bloodline is the new business venture between Mike Dolan and Travis Cullen. A ribbon cutting for the new pub was held Saturday and patrons enjoyed the pub during Saturday afternoon’s Cy-Hawk series football game that was extended greatly due to two lightning delays.

Right now, the pub is exclusively selling drinks, although within a month, they say they’ve entered an agreement to begin selling ready-made pizzas from Zipp’s Pizzaria in Adair.

Dolan has been born and raised in Greenfield. Cullen graduated from Nodaway Valley High School in 1999 and lives in the Ankeny area now. While it was Dolan’s idea to start the pub, Cullen was fully on board when he heard what the idea was.

“I was talking with the woman who owned the building before us, who lived in Texas, and I’ve known her for a long time. I’m Irish, so I called Travis and asked him if he wanted to go in on this with me,” Dolan said. “He’s another Irishman, and he said ‘I’m in.’”

“Greenfield’s lacking a nice establishment to have a drink,” Cullen thought.

This entire process began last December or January, and they had the building in their name by February. The building was built in 1931 and has lots of character, though because it had sat empty for a few years, several layers had to be stripped away from the walls and floors so that character could be exposed. The original brick walls form the walls of the pub while a new wood floor had to be laid because the original 1931 floor was too abused to be used.

“We didn’t really want to change the front,” Dolan said. “It matches Kathy [Foster’s] building, and they were both built in 1931. People don’t know that until they look up and see the roof line.”

One of the next steps for the pub will be an awning that was expected to arrive sometime this week or next. Cullen explains that the design for the awning and much of the rest of the bar drew inspiration from Irish-themed pubs such as the Dubliner.

“They’ve got black with the copper trim, have the flags up with a big awning,” Cullen said. “We’ve got our awning and it will be coming next week. We’re redoing the whole upstairs too.”

Also on the inside is a garage door with a painting by local artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II that uses the pub’s logo. Those who take selfies in front of the sign and post it to social media will get discounts on drinks.

In the back, the plan is for the fun to continue. When weather allows, patrons will be able to go into an area that will include outdoor seating, a gas fire pit and an area for yard games like cornhole.

“It’s nice to have something with nice furniture, nice booths, nice bar stools,” Cullen said. “We have nice TVs, the painting that Bubba did. We have NFL Sunday Ticket, so all the games on high-definition.”