Kildare's closes before St. Patrick's Day

Kildare’s Irish Pub on Franklin Street has lost the luck of the Irish just before St. Patrick’s Day.

Kildare’s — located at 206 W. Franklin St. — is now closed indefinitely, according to a comment from the restaurant on its Facebook page on Friday.

The unexpected closing came just days before St. Patrick’s Day and just a month after the restaurant announced plans to change management.

Calls made to Kildare’s went to the restaurant’s voicemail.

UNC sophomore Bailey Barger was a server at the pub until it closed Thursday.

“It was a huge shock to the Kildare’s company,” Barger said. “We were coming up on St. Patrick’s Day. Kildare’s wanted to stay open for another week.”

She said the closing was a result of disagreements with the property’s landlord.

In an email to staff on Friday, Kildare’s owner and CEO Dave Magrogan said Kildare’s could no longer satisfy its landlord’s requests.

Last month, Andrew Dawson took over as managing partner of the restaurant with plans to become the new franchisee.

Greg Spears, the realtor for the transaction, said in February that the management transition had not yet been finalized due to legal issues.

Barger said the Kildare’s closing came as a surprise to employees, who had been preparing to decorate the pub for St. Patrick’s Day.

“All of a sudden it just closed right out from under us,” she said. “I don’t know what to do with my kilt.”

Check back for more information as the story develops.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.