Darby’s Owner Planning A Goodbye Celebration In October
Marcus Dorn gets a little misty-eyed as he talks about his decision to sell Darby’s Pub & Grill, the neighborhood hangout he built up, nurtured and fought to keep alive through the recent challenges of COVID, road construction and fewer Twins fans to fill the big patio outside.
“I really am going to miss the people that have supported us all these years,” he said, “the people of the North Loop that really love Darby’s and myself, and care so much about this place.”
Darby’s will officially close on October 22nd and Dorn is planning a three-day goodbye celebration starting on Thursday the 20th. “Just more or less inviting everyone to come down and say goodbye,” he said. “I think we’ll have very good crowds. I think we’ve made enough of an impact in the North Loop that there’s a whole lot of people that say ‘I want to go there one last time.'”
Dorn sold his business to the owners of Bricksworth Beer who have a successful pizza and beer business in Burnsville and were looking to get a foothold in the North Loop.
“I couldn’t have found a nicer family to sell this place to,” Dorn said. “I didn’t want to sell it to somebody that’s corporate that isn’t gonna care as much as I cared about making this work.”
He said the new owners will spend a few weeks renovating the space before opening.
Dorn isn’t ready to retire but he said he’ll take a few months off to reflect on what he created–“the Cheers of the North Loop,” as he calls it–and decide what his next adventure will be.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve done here and the niche that we’ve created in the neighborhood, and I think people that live in the neighborhood and work in the neighborhood will always have a fondness for Darby’s.”
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer
