There’s just a wee bit o’ time before Vilano Beach’s most hotly anticipated new pub flings open its doors.
Durty Neli’s, a new Irish bar inspired by a childhood trip to the Emerald Isle, is aiming to open its doors the third week of July.
The throwback pub’s general manager, Vince Karalunas, said the team is finishing up final touchups and waiting on inspections from the fire department, health department, and building inspectors before they can officially dole out the drafts.
While much of the physical work is complete, the staff is still training and the point-of-sale ordering system is being finalized.
“We’re doing a little bit of touchups—everything that physically needs to be done,” Karalunas said. “We’re just waiting on building out our POS system and training our staff.”
Durty Neli’s will feature a food truck on-site, which is currently in development.
The menu will focus on simple, quick, and fresh offerings, with pretzels and rotisserie items but no fried foods, aiming to keep things light and easy for customers.
“We want to keep it simple,” Karalunas said. “No fried foods—quick and fast.”
Social media buzz has already begun to build for Durty Neli’s. The pub launched its Instagram page just last week and has since racked up more than 6,000 views from Guinness guzzlers countywide.
The account has escalated anticipation with several handsome pictures of the warm, wood-heavy interior — including a pool table.
Karalunas emphasized that Durty Neli’s will focus primarily on locals, catering especially to residents in the Vilano Beach and St. Augustine area.
“We’re going to concentrate on locals. We really are,” he said. “My average age is probably going to be between 40 to 70. Then, of course, I’ll have my people coming from the local hotels like the Hyatt and the people walking past our establishment to the pier.”
Brian Neligan, the pub’s founder, has deep ties to the area and a personal connection to the pub’s namesake.
His family traveled to Ireland in the 1970s, visiting Durty Nelly’s—a centuries-old pub near Bunratty Castle in County Clare—which inspired the name of this new Vilano Beach venture. Neligan hopes to capture the feel of an Irish pub from 200 years ago, with distressed pine walls, open rafters, and rustic metal panels throughout the space.
Neligan’s goal is to preserve the charm and character of Vilano Beach while revitalizing the main strip with a small-town beach feel. The pub is located across from Snapper’s, an upscale seafood restaurant in development by well-known local restaurateurs Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar.
Mary Neligan, Brian’s 24-year-old daughter, will be working as the barmaid at Durty Neli’s and is expected to take on a larger role in the future.
“We want to keep that Irish pub culture alive right here,” Brian Neligan said. “There’s really nothing like it around.”
Plans for a grand opening are in motion, with local dignitaries expected to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Slainte!
2 Responses
The point of fried foods is that they ARE fast.
Looking forward to that Guiness