Return to work: Springfield restaurateurs plan to reopen J.O.B. Public House

J.O.B. fans rejoice: You could soon be sipping on a whiskey cocktail or noshing on a Full Ride back at the Walnut Street bar.

On Dec. 29, Mudlounge owners Chris and Nicole Brown and downtown restaurateurs Clayton and Anne Baker purchased the building at 319 E. Walnut St. The Bakers also own Tinga Tacos, Civil Kitchen and Finnegan's Wake.

The group is planning to bring J.O.B. back as it was — a whiskey bar with "really good late-night food" — as early as mid-February and hopefully no later than mid-March, Chris Brown said.

"We all really missed J.O.B. We missed what it brought to downtown — that was a lot of our hangouts after work, just in our own free time," Brown said. "We felt like it was a great addition to downtown and we want to continue with what it was."

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In addition to a wide whiskey selection, J.O.B. will also offer whiskey cocktails as well as beers and other drinks.

Above J.O.B. and Primetime are two lofts that the Browns and Bakers are renovating for people to be able to rent. They are still "exploring their options" as to what they will do with the Primetime space, Brown said.

The owners are hoping to bring back the atmosphere and culture that J.O.B.'s original owner, the late Danny Schlink, had cultivated. As his neighbors, the Browns and Bakers often got to see that firsthand and Nicole Brown knew Schlink in high school and college.

"We're not going to be able to replicate the unique person that he was — because Danny was a very unique person," Brown said. "We just hope that we can try to deliver a good product and a good experience for people who loved what it was."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield restaurateurs purchase J.O.B. with plans to reopen it