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Date: 7/11/2023
HOLYOKE — Awaiting the closure of the Eastfield Mall, Donovan’s Irish Pub is gearing up to move to its new location in the Paper City.
The bar will relocate to the current Slainte restaurant at 80 Jarvis Ave. in Holyoke and owners Frank and Justine Garaughty, who have been in operation since 2015, are looking toward being in a new community.
Donovan’s Irish Pub opened at the Eastfield Mall back in 2000 and the restaurant continues to be open 7 days a week with take-out and dining inside and outside. In 2015, it was sold to the Garaughty’s by the Donovan family.
“Once again, Justine and I cannot thank our staff, our patrons and our entertainers enough for everything,” Frank Garaughty wrote from the bar’s Facebook page.
The Eastfield Mall, which opened in 1968 as the Pioneer Valley’s first indoor shopping mall has been speculated to close over the recent years before plans became official this year.
The Garaughty’s first met at the bar in 2011 and later married shortly after taking ownership of Donovan’s Pub. Frank Garaughty added they always knew after taking over with the rumors about the mall that they could one day have to relocate.
As they prepare for the move, both Justine and Frank Garaughty expressed they would miss the location they have been so familiar with for so long. Justine added she will miss the regular crowds that come to Donovan’s Pub and hopes they can stay connected with old friends while they meet new ones in Holyoke.
“Most of them have been very supportive of us and they’ll try to make it over to the new location, but also there will be new regulars to meet as well which is a good feeling too,” Justine Garaughty said.
Frank Garaughty added he is no expert from running the Pub with his wife, but he will forever take with him the lessons learned and memories into the move. Both added they are happy to be moving the Irish pub to a city like Holyoke with so much Irish heritage already there. Frank Garaughty added the new location was a great deal for what they were pursuing.
Their final day at the Eastfield Mall location will be July 15 when the mall closes for redevelopment. The plan is to reopen in Holyoke in the fall.