Liquid Lounge, Mickey Finn?s to Open in Late January

Some of the owners of Buster Belly’s Bar & Deli in Fayetteville have been busy getting two new Dickson Street bars ready to open by the end of January.

The Liquid Lounge at 416 W. Dickson St. will be a small, 1,000-SF “jazzy type lounge,” said Tony Mallean, one of the owners of both clubs. Mallean said the business will be primarily a martini lounge that also serves deli sandwiches.

The Liquid Lounge will occupy the building that was home to Bath Junkie before it moved to the downtown Fayetteville square last year. Other owners of The Liquid Lounge are Mike Troute and Billy Porter.

An Irish pub called Mickey Finn’s is scheduled to open at about the same time in the U-Ark Bowl building on Dickson Street. Originally to be called O’Malley’s, Mickey Finn’s will be owned by Mallean, Troute, Porter and Brad Nabors. All of the owners are originally from Manhattan, Kan. The group initially planned to have the Irish pub open by August 2001, but renovation of the historic building by Sixth Street Development of Fayetteville has taken longer than expected.

Mallean said Mickey Finn’s will occupy about 2,200 SF of space on the ground floor of the U-Ark Bowl building. The bar will serve food, about a dozen different beers and a variety of Irish whiskies.

Mallean, Porter and Trout are partners in Buster Belly’s Bar & Deli, which opened at 420 W. Dickson St. in April of 2000. Mallean oversees operation of that restaurant. Nabors will manage Mickey Finn’s.