Pub, wine bar coming to downtown Barrington

A new restaurant and a wine bar are on their way this fall to neighboring sites in downtown Barrington.

McGonigal's Pub will serve traditional Irish food and pub fare on the former corner site of Wolf Camera at 105 S. Cook St.

Park Avenue Wine Bar and Merchant will be right next door at 205 Park Ave., featuring both a wine bar and retail area.

Both locations are a block south of Lake-Cook Road/Main Street and will be run by longtime area residents.

Co-owner Dennis McGonigal, who divides his time between North Barrington and Naples, Fla., will run the businesses with his children.

His son Bryan McGonigal also lives in North Barrington with his family, while daughter Melissa McGonigal Berry and her husband Steve Berry live in Barrington.

"We want Park Avenue Wine Bar and McGonigal's Pub to serve as anchor businesses in the revitalization of Barrington's village center," Steve Berry said in a written statement. "A community like Barrington should have many local options for evening and weekend entertainment, and we think McGonigal's and Park Avenue Wine Bar will improve local nightlife."

Bryan McGonigal said the Cook Street building that will house both businesses was originally built in 1911 as First State Bank of Barrington.

Though the building became a popular location for restaurants in the 1940s, it has housed mainly retail businesses in the past decade, requiring a lot of work to put in a restaurant and bar.

Exact dates for both businesses' openings have not been set, but the families aim to be open before the end of the year.

For more information, visit mcgonigalspub.com and parkavenuewinebar.com.