Downtown’s Patton Alley Pub closes

Patton Alley Pub, a staple in downtown Springfield for nearly two decades, has closed its doors.

The 313 S. Patton Ave. bar, restaurant and concert venue announced the closure, effective immediately, in a Facebook post this morning.

"After 17+ years, the reduction in sales due to COVID finally overwhelmed us and we cannot financially continue," the post reads. "We do not know what will be moving into the space, but hope it brings people together (safely) for years to come."

Eric Zackrison, a California resident for several years, founded Patton Alley Pub in 2003. Reached this morning, he deferred comment on the closure to the Facebook post.

In 2019, Zackrison placed the Patton Alley Pub business for sale at $150,000, according to past reporting. This morning, Zackrison said a deal was in the works before the pandemic brought talks to an end.

Zackrison previously operated fine-dining restaurant Agrario and the upstairs Bodega Bar adjacent to Patton Alley Pub, as well as Hickok’s Steakhouse across the street. Zackrison sold the downtown building to the Jalili family of restaurateurs in 2008 as part of a bankruptcy filing that forced the closure of his Agrario and Bodega Bar concepts, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. Hickok’s Steakhouse, a partnership with developer Scott Tillman, also closed in 2008.

Zackrison now operates Santa Barbara business consultancy IDI.Us Inc., and he teaches management and business communication courses as a professor at the University of California.

Rusty Worley, executive director of the Downtown Springfield Association, provided a statement on the closure, crediting Patton Alley Pub an "early embrace of craft beer, live music and sidewalk cafes."

"Many good memories originated at Patton Alley over the past 17 years, and we look forward to building on that culture in the months ahead on the road to recovery from the pandemic," the statement reads.