Brannigan's Pub opens downtown

If you’ve ever been to an Irish pub, you know there’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of a good one.

Dark wood, a friendly atmosphere with a touch of class and good conversation with friends and bartenders can be part of the charm. Hearty pub food, and good beer and whiskey round out the experience.

For anyone craving the feel of the old country with some tastes of the new, Brannigan’s Pub in the newly-renovated Loading Dock building on Center Street is the place to be. Brannigan’s offers Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s on tap and the bar is fully stocked with a selection of Irish whiskey.

Run by the same people who own Scotty’s Bar on the south end of Kalispell, Brannigan’s has a more “downtown” feel to go along with its downtown hours. The bar and restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and owner Zane Levengood said most of his customers have been from the downtown area, stopping in for a lunch or drinks after work.

“As my old man said, ‘nothing good happens after midnight,’ and we’re not really the same kind of feel as Scotty’s,” Levengood said.

Levengood said business has been good since the pub opened a few weeks ago; he puts it down to the atmosphere.

“We’ve gone through more beer than we expected in the first week we’ve been open,” Levengood said. “Our suppliers are a little surprised I think, that they have to make more deliveries already. Part of that is because we just don’t have the same kind of storage here as at Scotty’s, but part of that is because we’ve had a really good time so far. People seem to really like what we’ve got going on here.”

Levengood said he thinks a lot of that success is due to the central downtown location, and part of it is due to the unique theme of the bar.

“Irish pubs are the most fun kind of environment for a bar,” Levengood said. “We’ve got a lot to offer, and I think people really like it. It helps that we’re the only ones in town, too.”