After a current owner of The Pub denied plans to sell the establishment, a State Street businessman has confirmed he has plans to buy the bar.
Gus Paras, owner of The Comedy Club, has submitted a beer and liquor license application for what is currently The Pub, owned by David Schwoegler and his family. Licensing clerk Ronda Statz confirmed in an e-mail to The Badger Herald that Paras is planning on buying the business.
Paras, a State Street business owner since 1972, says he has big plans for The Pub.
“I’m far from being able to change anything yet; I have to get licenses and talk to banks,” Paras said. “But I’d like to renovate the building, update some things, but still keep it The Pub.”
Paras said he hopes to draw in more members of the community and create a social and safe atmosphere for students as well as Madison residents. He added no major changes for entertainment or live music, besides a DJ, have been planned.
The Pub reopened in August after closing for summer renovations. More recently, the current ownership has sought licenses for a DJ and live music. The license application was granted at the last Alcohol License Review Committee meeting.
ALRC member Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, voiced his enthusiasm for the prospective new management.
“His establishments have an excellent reputation,” Verveer said. “I have no reservations about Gus purchasing The Pub, and I see him continuing to represent the establishment as it has been, continuing to improve and providing for the community.”
As for Schwoegler’s denial at a recent ALRC meeting that The Pub was being sold, Schwoegler himself was kept mostly in the dark concerning The Pub’s future plans, Paras said.
He added representatives “spoke the truth as far as they knew” at the meeting.
“Many details were kept from Schwoegler. I went to [Schwoegler] and I told him the truth after the meeting. He’s a good guy, but he only said what he did because that’s all he knew at the time,” Paras said.
The miscommunication stemmed in part from the simple fact the application had not yet been filed at the time The Badger Herald reported that the bar was to be sold.
“At the time of the meeting, no one had filed the application. The story ran, people asked questions and it led to the confusion,” Statz said.
James Noack, an associate of Schwoegler for many years, backed up the claim there have been no serious discussions as to the selling of The Pub or any substantial change in management. The two have recently sought additional staffing help from Paras for the coming weekend with Halloween being a demanding time for most area bars.
Neither Schwoegler nor current management of The Pub could be reached for comment.