A Beautiful Mess, Scotch & Soda owners to open rum bar

Last edited 8:15 a.m., June 18, 2015

The owners behind Springfield lifestyle blog A Beautiful Mess and downtown whiskey bar Scotch & Soda have partnered to open a rum bar on Park Central Square.

A Beautiful Mess co-owner Emma Chapman and her husband Trey George, the blog’s business development manager, along with Scotch & Soda co-owner Joshua Widner and his brother and employee, Rogan Howitt, are developing the concept, Widner said.

Widner said the venture, dubbed The Golden Girl Rum Club, would open later this year after novelty gift store Retro Nouveau’s lease at the 137 Park Central Square space ends Sept. 30.

“There’s been a large influx of appreciation and consumption of rum over the past couple years in most major cities around the U.S.,” he said.

Widner and team purchased the building, which has around 1,500 square feet of downstairs operating space and an upstairs loft, on June 5 for an undisclosed amount from Sam Freeman. The property has a 2015 taxable appraised value of $140,600, according to Greene County assessor records.

“It seemed like a great spot,” Widner said, pointing to the property’s proximity to the Heer’s building. “It’s the exact right size we wanted.”

In contrast to the “dark cave” at Scotch & Soda, Widner said The Golden Girl Rum Club would be a brighter establishment with white wood, lighter drinks and healthy, small-plate lunch and dinner options.

“The Golden Girl is a southern Havana rum bar, so everything is bright white and clean lines,” Widner said, noting an emphasis on pineapple designs. “It’s kind of an homage to the pineapple, which is the international symbol of hospitality. It’s also extremely important to rum cocktails and rum culture.”