From 180 Franklin Street to 180 West Street, the Bar Americano team is doing a 180. 

The partners of the European aperitivo bar, Bar Americano (180 Franklin St.), have taken over the lease of the corner lot that was previously home to Achilles Heel (180 West St.) and turning it into an Irish pub.

Achilles Heel, a popular cocktail bar from Marlow Collective, abruptly closed this past February after serving the neighborhood for 13 years.

The shuttering was surprising, even to the bar’s own employees, and many speculated that it was because the staff recently unionized. 

Bar Americano’s David Clarke told Greenpointers that he and his Bar Americano partners are deviating from their aperitivo bar ambiance and opening a traditional Irish pub in the Achilles Heel space. The pub does not yet have a name, but Clarke said it will be “simple, honest, and very much for the neighborhood.”

“We’re mostly from Ireland and will be opening a true Irish pub — inspired by the pubs of Galway, West Clare, and our hometown Athlone,” Clarke explained. 

He also mentioned that the team has a “connection to the building,” and Greenpointers discovered that the landlord is a partner at Bar Americano.

Clarke and the team are “planning small but very intentional changes,” in the space with “the goal of creating something that feels like it’s always been there — and will stand the test of time.”

The team is still working through timelines, but Clarke said that they are aiming to open the pub “later this year.”