Gertie Brownes to reopen on Wednesday after weekend fire

Gertie Brownes bar is due to reopen this Wednesday, March 15, at 3pm following a weekend fire which caused smoke damage to the iconic Athlone licenced premises.

Peter Scully, joint owner of the Custume Place premises along with Alan Conroy, confirmed to the Westmeath Independent that, while the bar will reopen this week, the restaurant area of the business, known as Hatter's Lane Bistro, will remain closed “in the short-term” as the kitchen area took the brunt of the smoke damage and will have to be completely rewired.

“We will be reopening the bar area on Wednesday just in time for St. Patrick's weekend, but Hatters Lane Bistro will remain closed, hopefully just for the short-term, while we repair the smoke damage and rewire the kitchen area” said Peter.

Two units of Athlone Fire Brigade attended the scene of the fire at Gertie Brownes, which broke out at around 4.10am on Sunday morning last, March 12. “We were alerted to the fire by way of a phonecall in the early hours of Sunday morning” said Peter Scully, who added that the fire was brought under control “within a very short time” but the fire crews remained on site for around two hours to contain the smoke damage and ensure the safety of the area.

In a Facebook post early on Sunday morning, the owners of Gertie Brownes – who also run Peadar's Bar in Moate - thanked Athlone Fire Station, An Garda Siochana and their neighours and friends who responded so quickly to the weekend fire and said they would be closed “for the coming days to treat smoke damage.”