Date: 10/3/2018
FEEDING HILLS – The owners of the Agawam Axe House, Robert Manning and Anneliese Townsend, are looking to open a new bar and lounge in town. The potential bar would sit at 485 Springfield St. – where the former Headquarters Bar & Grill & Banquet Hall used to be – and provide a space for people to connect, network and unwind.
On Sept. 27, the Agawam Liquor License Commission voted to grant the couple’s application for a transfer of license from Headquarters – which shut down around two years ago – to their future bar, Pour. Manning will be the new manager of the license, while Townsend will be the assistant manager. The details of the “restaurant” license are remaining the same, allowing the pair to serve beer, wine and spirits.
“Liquor licenses are hard to come by, and we’ve been looking for one for a while,” said Manning. “We got our inspiration from the Axe House – we love entertaining people and to have people come together and be in our establishment. Pour is a great follow up for people at the Axe House – 90 percent of the conversations of people at the Axe House are like, ‘where are we going next?’ So, we want to give them another place they can go.”
Time is of the essence for the business partners. If they don’t receive state approval from the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) by the end of December, the license will revert back to the city.
Manning and Townsend plan on using the same structure as the former Headquarters bar in the Hollow Pine Shops commercial plaza. As far as aesthetics go, they said the space needs only minor repairs and “a bit of freshening up.”
“It’s very early on for us, but we’re keeping the same basic, internal structure,” added Townsend. “We’re just going to make it all fresh, clean and welcoming.”
The bar will have around 190 seating options, including an outdoor patio. The cuisine has not yet been decided, but Townsend told Reminder Publishing they are in “discussions with a head chef.”
There will be a music system – live music will not be a feature of the bar.
The partners want the bar to go beyond the traditional bar experience. They said they hope to create a destination for people to go and connect with each other.
“We’re focused on socialization, not fine dining – that is our theme. It’s to pour amazing drinks in a social setting. You can get food, but there’s no pressure to,” said Townsend. “We talked about it as more of a lounge – it’s a place for professionals to have lunch and for people to come after work to get a bite. I think what we’re focusing on is actually corporate events and corporate team-building, we really want to cater to large groups.”
They hope to hire around 25-30 employees, explained Manning, and believe that their previous experience in owning businesses has helped prepare them for this new endeavor.
“Having other businesses has helped us go through a lot of regulations before with the Town,” said Manning. “We know the process of opening a business, as well as general business knowledge, like how to treat a customers and best service practices.”
Manning and Townsend submitted their application to the ABCC, in which the agency will conduct a background check and review their material. They are currently waiting to hear back from the ABCC for final approval.
If it is approved, the couple said they would like to open their new bar by January.