Well-known Portlaoise venue Lilly’s Bar and Kitchen has closed its doors for business – and it’s understood the property is to now be put up for sale.
The Main Street bar and restaurant, which also had a nightclub/late bar, didn’t open over the weekend.
Lilly’s was opened under proprietor Kieran Lillis in the summer of 2018 and had an official opening in October of that year. Former Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan was a partner in the business when it opened.
The premises is owned by the O’Loughlin family, who also previously owned O’Loughlin’s Hotel a couple of doors up the street.
The venue was part of the overall NolaClan pub group, which runs venues across the country. Prior to opening, the venue underwent a considerable refurbishment.
A statement from Lilly’s cited the “challenging economic landscape … marked by escalating costs” as factors in the decision to close.
They also expressed their heartfelt gratitude to their “loyal customers, dedicated staff, supportive landlord, reliable supporters, and skilled tradesmen”.
Among NolaClan’s businesses are House in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast as well as The Oyster Tavern in Cork and 37 Dawson Street in Dublin.
The premises was taken on a lease from the O’Loughlins who bought the property, which was then Egan’s, in 2014, and opened under the name ‘The Blue Door’ in May 2015.
For a while it was home to the Manhatten Mixer nightclub brand, though that then moved to Copper’s in the Market Square.
When Lilly’s opened in 2018 Brogan attended the official launch along with a number of his All Ireland-winning Dublin team-mates.
The launch was also attended by Pippa O’Connor and Alan Clancy, a director in NolaClan.
Like all hospitality businesses, it endured an incredibly difficult spell throughout the Covid-enforced closures in 2020 and 2021 but had resumed trading in the subsequent years.
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