Blue Bull to close as owner launches new venture

Blue Bull Bar & Grill is closing, and its owner already is planning another downtown venture.

The Blue Bull LLC owner Craig Clark said the last day for the 105 Park Central Square establishment is Oct. 29. Blue Bull also will host a going-out-of-business party on Oct. 28.  

“We’ll go out big with the pub crawl,” Clark said of the annual Halloween event on Saturday.

Building owner Allen Casey would like the space to house a food-focused upscale business model, but that didn’t gel with Clark’s plans.

“I decided that’s not the direction I want to head in,” Clark said.

Blue Bull opened in August 2010 under Bart Pinkerton. Clark, who later came on as a partner, bought the business three years ago.

Clark and Casey reached an agreement this summer for Blue Bull to vacate at the end of October.

“We’ve experienced the highs and lows of downtown. Once you get used to it, you know how to handle it,” Clark said. “We’re doing well, but we feel it’s time for something new.”

Up next for Clark is a venture dubbed Studio Bar & Ultra Lounge.

Clark signed a three-year lease for undisclosed terms with 28 Properties LLC for 4,200 square feet at 300 Park Central East, the former home of Parlor 88 and Fedora Social House. It most recently housed Got Good Coffee LLC.

Clark plans to use the upstairs portion of the building for a nightclub atmosphere, with DJs playing several nights a week, and the basement area as a lounge with low lighting and casual furniture.

“Springfield’s only had one ultra lounge in its history, and that was Tonic years ago,” he said.

Studio Bar & Ultra Lounge is scheduled to open during the last weekend of November.