Dooley's Pub working with city to terminate lease on prominent downtown location

After a decade-plus run downtown, Dooley’s Pub will not reopen in its longtime location along First Avenue.

According to Monday’s Rochester City Council agenda packet, the business is in the process of terminating its lease inside the first floor of the city-owned BioBusiness Building, 255 First Avenue Southwest.

The lease had been scheduled to run through 2024. However, Dooley’s — like other bars and restaurants nationwide — saw its business model upended by Covid-19. The pandemic was especially problematic for the pub, given its reputation for turning into a crowded nightclub on weekends.

(Terms of the lease termination are now being worked out with the City Attorney’s office. City officials say the goal is to come to terms on a “mutual” agreement, which could include keeping the kitchen intact.)

Prior to its permanent closure, Dooley’s had not been open since late November when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered a temporary ban on indoor dining in response to a surge in Covid-19 cases. The pub remained closed even after restrictions were eased.

The winter shutdown was not, however, the first time that Dooley’s had suffered setbacks stemming from Covid-related measures. In July, the pub voluntarily shut its doors after an outbreak involving staff and customers. Then in September, Olmsted County Public Health ordered the business closed for three days for failing to comply with Covid safety protocols.

Moving forward, the city plans to open a request for proposals (RFP) to find a new tenant for the 7,589 square-foot space. City staff will detail that process during a presentation before the City Council on Monday.

In a memo made public this week, Deputy City Administrator Terry Spaeth said that because the space is already equipped with a full kitchen and bar, “it seems a logical future tenant of the space would be a restaurant operator” with “hours of operation up to midnight.” However, the city does not plan to restrict applicants to proposing a restaurant concept.

Dooley’s joins a number of local restaurants and bars that have closed since the onset of the pandemic; others include nearby downtown establishments The Loop and Legend’s Bar and Grill.

Calls to Dooley’s owner Tory Runkle were not returned.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.