Mickey Finn's continues tavern tradition

Over the years, brewed beer and grilled burgers served at Mickey Finn's have become regular features in downtown Libertyville.

While the beverages and look of the pub at 412 N. Milwaukee Ave. have altered over the decades, the purpose of the business has stayed the same.

For just about 100 years, the brick storefront has operated as a tavern, with the exception of the Prohibition years, when it was turned into a barbershop, says owner Brian Grano.

Legend has it, though, that even then there was a secret room in the basement where beverages were still served, he says with a laugh.

Grano, who took over the business about six years ago, sometimes wonders what happened all those years ago at the tavern that is now Lake County's oldest brewery. But he admits that he's much more interested in what's going on at the business today.

The Libertyville resident shares a few facts and figures about his brewery that was once a hole-in-the-wall bar.

• The tavern has been Mickey Finn's since the early 1980s. It became Mickey Finn's Brewery in 1994.

• Earlier this year, the business brewed its 1,500th batch of beer.

• The brewery offers about 25 different beers every year.

• Since 1994, brew masters have brewed more than 31,000 kinds of beer in Libertyville, producing 3,875,000 pints.

• When it comes to burgers, nearly three-quarters of a million have been grilled in the kitchen since 1994.

• Including outside and upstairs, the establishment can seat close to 400 patrons.

• About 15 months ago, the brewery started distribution of its Amber Ale in 12-packs at liquor and grocery stores in Lake County.

• The namesake beer is on tap at the new Lake County Fielders baseball field in Zion.

• Grano, 44, worked in restaurants in high school and college then pursued a business career. He worked for eight years in corporate sales and then owned his own manufacturers' rep firm for another eight years. He grew "bored" with business and often frequented Mickey Finn's.

• He got to know the former owners and ended up buying the business from Bill Sugars in 2004. Pat Elmquest, Sugars' business partner, died in 2002.

• The biggest event of the summer, the BackLot Brewfest, is expected to draw about 2,000 people. It runs Aug. 6 and 7.