Golden Girl Rum Club to open Friday

A bar combining the talents of Springfield lifestyle blog A Beautiful Mess and downtown whiskey bar Scotch & Soda is slated to open Friday.

The owners of Golden Girl Rum Club, 137 Park Central Square, notified social media followers the bar would open at 5 p.m. March 4.

The concept is the brainchild of A Beautiful Mess co-owner Emma Chapman and her husband Trey George, the blog’s business development manager, as well as Scotch & Soda co-owner Joshua Widner and his brother and employee, Rogan Howitt.

“There’s not a whole lot of rum bars in town, or really any to my knowledge,” George said this morning, noting the establishment employs 11. “It’s really a perfect balance of fun and upscale.”

Open for lunch and evenings, George said the bar would have food, such as salads, sandwiches and wings, as well as specialty cocktails using fruit.

Last June, the business partners bought the two-story building, which has 1,500 square feet of downstairs space for the rum bar, for an undisclosed amount from Sam Freeman. The property - which previously housed novelty gift store Retro Nouveau - is owned by Rhum House Properties LLC and has a 2015 taxable appraised value of $140,600, according to the Greene County assessor’s website.

Crews since have installed a bar and implemented design elements reminiscent of a southern Havana rum bar, including bright colors and plants. It also has a glass garage door facing the square, which George said would be used as the entryway for a planned patio.