Mayor Donna had reached the point in her remarks at Keane’s Tavern for making a toast that celebrated the return of an Irish pub to downtown Jacksonville for the first time since 2019.
“Slainte,” she said and raised the glass of Guinness beer.
Deegan didn’t drink from it, but the taps at Keane’s Tavern will be flowing for patrons just in time for it to get a piece of the business that comes from the annual Florida-Georgia game.
The grand opening on Oct. 31 marks another addition to the lineup of restaurants, bars and concert halls in The Elbow entertainment district where start-up financial assistance by the city has helped bring new businesses into historic buildings along blocks near the Florida Theatre.
That support by the city helped the ownership team behind Keane’s Tavern assemble the financing for the pub in the 300 block of Bay Street in sight of the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel.
“It feels absolutely amazing to be standing here today after months of dust, deadlines, late nights and a few ‘Are we actually going to make it?’ scenarios,'” co-owner Evan Rajta said on Oct. 30.
Downtown had been without an Irish-themed bar since Fionn MacCool’s Irish Pub and Restaurant closed at the Jacksonville Landing in 2019 before the riverfront mall was demolished.
Keane’s Tavern, which takes its name from the maiden name of Rajta’s wife, has Irish and U.S. flags flying from its storefront facade. Inside, it’s filled with the ambience of a pub with lots of polished woodwork. The draft beer includes Guinness and the bar also serves up cocktails, shots and wine.
Keane’s Tavern will open on Oct. 31, 2025 on East Bay Street in Jacksonville, Fla., giving downtown its first Irish pub since 2019. The pub is in The Elbow district of downtown that features blocks of restaurants, bars and music halls.
The dining side of the menu will feature small plates, such as Scotch egg and its own Keane’s potatoes and leek, with main courses of bangers and mash, Dublin wings and fish and chips.
The back of the pub has a room with a stage for live music that will be a regular part of the pub’s nightly attractions.
The opening of Keane’s Tavern at 315 E. Bay St. comes on the heels of Rajta and his business partners launching Decca Live, located next door to the pub. They are in the midst of renovating space for Besa Bakery and Tea Room Speakeasy on the same block of Bay Street.
“We decided to take a leap of faith and invest down here,” Rajta said.
City’s retail enhancement programs seeds nightlife growth
Besides those three business in a row on Bay Street, other ventures in The Elbow that have won support from the Downtown Investment Authority’s retail enhancement program include Hardwicks Bar, Dorothy’s Downtown and Ruby Beach Brewing.
A couple of blocks outside The Elbow district, the Downtown Investment Authority gave assistance to Bread and Board, Pizza Dynamo and Pour Taproom on Laura Street.
The city’s incentive typically is a few hundred thousand dollars in the form of forgivable loans where the amount that must be repaid decreases each year until it zeroes out so long as the business is still in operation.
Bread and Board closed after a two and a half years, so the city takes some risk in putting taxpayer money on the line. But so far, the retail enhancement program has seeded new businesses that collectively move the needle for bringing more people into downtown.
The Elbow is down Bay Street from the sports complex that draws people year-round to watch concerts and sports at the arena, baseball park, amphitheater and football stadium that’s undergoing a massive renovation.
Keane’s Tavern will open on Oct. 31, 2025 on East Bay Street in Jacksonville, Fla., giving downtown its first Irish pub since 2019. The pub is in The Elbow district of downtown that features blocks of restaurants, bars and music halls.
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Colin Tarbert said downtown will benefit from both the big venues at the sports complex and the smaller restaurants and bars like Keane’s Tavern.
“I don’t think you can really have a thriving downtown without those local establishments that make them authentic and a place people want to visit if you’re from out of town but also if you’re a resident living here and come down for a pint,” he said.
Deegan and City Council President Kevin Carrico, who also was there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, tied the opening of Keane’s Tavern to the broader development of downtown.
Deegan said the pub joins ongoing construction of a riverfront park system, the renovation of the football stadium, the future opening of a University of Florida graduate campus, and various residential and retail developments.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan raises a pint of beer for an Irish toast before cutting the ribbon Oct. 30, 2025 at Keane’s Tavern in downtown. Deegan didn’t drink the beer, however. The East Bay Street pub is in The Elbow entertainment district.
Carrico said he envisions the miles of Bay Street from the football stadium on one end of downtown to the future UF grad campus on the other becoming “one of the premier entertainment districts in the Southeast.”
He said events at the sports complex will spin off more customers for businesses in The Elbow if people try them out and the experience changes their perception of having a night out in downtown.
“As more options open, this will become one of those destination places,” he said. “It’s probably not there yet, but I think it’s on the way.”
Fan guide: Florida-Georgia game 2025 parking, what to know about traffic and gameday assistance
More immediately, he said having an Irish pub open in time for the Florida-Georgia game is good timing for the business and the city.
“Every downtown has a good Irish pub,” he said. “Now we’ve got one.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Keane’s Tavern returns Irish pub to downtown Jacksonville
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