Popular Westport pub getting a makeover

THE iconic West Bar and Restaurant in the heart of Westport is be undergoing redevelopments aimed at taking the local dining experience ‘to a new level’.

The popular West Bar and Restaurant at the bottom of Bridge Street in Westport will be closed for the next month while the works are underway.

Martin Brennan of the West Bar and Restaurant told The Mayo News that they will be developing a new downstairs kitchen, which he feels will transform the business.

“My big focus was getting my kitchen downstairs because it is upstairs at the moment, which is a nightmare from all points of view,” he said, adding that he plans to market the upstairs part of the venue as a separate private entity with its own kitchen and bar, which he hopes will prove a popular venue for private parties of all sorts. It will be totally separate from downstairs and have its own identity and its own entrance from the street.

“Downstairs will be a separate gastro bar with 100 seats rather than 80, which it has at the moment,” he explained. “It will bring pub grub to a whole new level in the town of Westport. I made the decision to go down the food avenue, and I am so thankful to my team of chefs and all my loyal staff over the last two-and-a-half years.”

Soul searching

MARTIN, who is heavily involved in the local St Anne's Boxing Club and a former manager of the Mayo senior hurling team, bought the West Bar and Restaurant over 15 years ago. However, financial difficulties during the recession meant he had to hand the keys over to the banks.

Two years ago he got the chance to take over the West again, and after much soul searching, he decided to go for it. But this time he wanted to put his own identity onto the business.

“When I came into it this time I really wanted to go down the food avenue more than anything and waited for Covid to end to get the doors opened. If it was just a pub with no food I would be closed because the overheads are so costly. I need to be doing food and selling a lot of food, but I am very lucky and happy with the way things are going for me.

“The way the food has gone in the last year and half has given me the courage to spend more money on the place and to get a kitchen downstairs. Maybe Covid has affected the drinking side, but food has gone well for me and the winters were good for me,” he explained.

Local life

ANYONE who has visited the West will have noticed their own brand name, ‘Howaya’ placed on the menu and beer mats. as well as on its social media platforms.

“So many people ask me what the Howaya is about,” Martin commented. “It is really a real Westport phrase that we all use. It is our brand name now.

“Myself and John Morley owned a horse and we called it The West Howaya and it was a very good horse which won a bumper down in Limerick. John was my bar manager 15 years ago and has sadly since deceased. I like putting that bit of twang onto the West because I feel there is a spot of luck with it and brings back good memories,” he explained.

Martin is looking to recruit two more full time chefs along with a beverage and food manager and bring his staff number up to around 18 people.

The plan is to be open again in February, and Martin hopes it will be the start of a new phase of the establishment, which has been part of the fabric of Westport life since 1901.

“There have been many faces of the West over the years and I'm very excited about writing the next chapter in the history of the business. I am so happy from where the West has come from and I am really looking forward to the new season and welcoming people into the new West.”