Historic Vinegar Hill Mall reopens with Trish & Mary's Irish Pub

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Conn's Hospitality Group is known for operating several businesses in Central Illinois like Obed & Isaac's and the 7th Street Cidery.

In the fall of 2021, they purchased the Vinegar Hill Mall after the previous owner passed away. Their goal is to create a large area housing a variety of businesses that are all accessible through an interior hallway.

"The word on the street was the future included demolition so our executive team and myself, we came together to brainstorm," said Karen Conn, the President of Conn's Hospitality Group." We really didn't have a solidified plan of what we were going to do when we purchased this, but we knew that we had to save it."

The group came up with a multi-phase renovation plan. The first business planned was Trish & Mary's Public House, which opened Friday. By the end of the day, a coffee shop will be across the hall. Land of Lincoln Winery is moving their production facility to Springfield from Peoria and the they will open a tasting room in the Mall. The Conn's Hospitality group also plans to open a Southern-style restaurant as well.

"There was a lot of work done on just sealing up the building, taking care of leaks, fixing the roof, and then some interior projects as well," said Jason Shanle, Corporate Administrator for Conn's Hospitality Group.

Trish & Mary's Pub was inspired by Conn's travels to Europe and the love she developed for soccer while abroad. The pub will play soccer games from across the world so soccer fans can enjoy watching their favorite teams together.

The Mall also includes an indoor beer garden with games for guests to play. Beer garden guests can receive their drinks through a pass-through window to the Pub.