Donnelly’s Irish Pub has served the Peoria area for over half a century.

Opened in 1970 by Terry and Molly Donnelly, the pub will celebrate its 52^nd anniversary this October.

Earlier this year, however, Donnelly’s was forced to close after a fire damaged part of the building on May 12. Luckily, no one was in the building when the fire started, owner Ryan Donnelly said.

“We had closed at 10 o'clock and the fire department was here by 10:30,” he said. “So, it was caught pretty early or it could have been a big problem.”

Donnelly said the fire started around the charbroiler and remained around that space in the building.

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While the fire was caught and extinguished quickly, Donnelly’s Irish Pub remained closed until Aug. 4 – nearly three months after the fire.

Overall, there “really wasn’t much damage” from the fire, Donnelly said. However, one of the areas affected by the fire was the ventilation system.

Donnelly's had moved to its current location in 2013. The fire codes had changed since work had last been done to the building, Donnelly said, so the ventilation and hood system had to be redone to meet the current safety codes.

“That just took a while because as everyone is, you know, low on employees,” he said, “and the construction crews were very busy so getting them here and getting parts and supply chain things, you know, obviously held us back.”

With parts being delivered slowly and construction workers backed up on other projects, Donnelly said the last few months have been stressful.

“A lot of employees have been here for years,” Donnelly said, “and, you know, you worry about them as if they’re your own family, so it was stressful.”

During the closure, Donnelly said he tried to keep staff working and paid. He said he would have staff work on smaller repairs or renovations around the restaurant. But he said the work was not the same as being open and serving the public.

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In the end, Donnelly said he had to hire six new waitstaff and an entirely new bar staff before reopening. He said he did not make a big announcement about the reopening on Aug. 4 so the pub’s new employees could start off in a slightly calmer environment.

Even without a large announcement the first day, Donnelly said the pub has been busy.

“Now that we are back open, they are very, very excited to be coming back,” he said.

Customers can find new items such as the southwest salad and a smoked salmon BLT. Donnelly said he plans to bring more specials to the menu once the staff has had more time to adjust and train. He also plans to offer a variety of specials for Octoberfest.

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Donnelly said he is grateful for all the community support he and the business have received throughout the ordeal.

“It’s just great to be back open and up and running,” Donnelly said, “and again, I just appreciate all those customers that have been coming in and that stuck with us, and really appreciate my employees that I retained and stuck with us because that’s huge.”

Donnelly’s Irish Pub

• Address: 4501 N. Rockwood Dr., Peoria, IL 61615

• Phone: (309) 681-0800

• Website: https://www.donnellyspubpeoria.com/

Connect with Cassidy Waigand by emailing her at CWaigand@gannett.com or by following her on Twitter at @justxaxwriter.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Donnelly's reopens in Peoria. Here's what happened behind the scenes