New bar opening above Bruno’s Italian Restaurant

After Aubrey Kennedy took over ownership of Bruno’s Italian Restuarant at the beginning of the year, she knew she wanted to do something with its empty upstairs space.

“I felt like it was kind of a critical piece,” Kennedy said, noting the restaurant “has a pretty good standing with the community, so I wanted to breathe a little more life into it, and it’s a beautiful space, so why not take advantage of that?”

The 416 South Ave. restaurant’s upstairs addition is The Kennedy bar, which scheduled a soft opening this afternoon. Kennedy said the 2,000-square-foot bar, which seats up to 50, will serve specialty cocktails and appetizers, and it will have a separate menu from the restaurant.

“It has a different vibe,” she said. “This is a higher-end dinner – and if you’re waiting for a table, you can have a cocktail while you’re waiting.”

Kennedy said the space of the new bar was already part of the property when she bought Bruno’s, and it works under the same license. She declined to disclose the startup costs of the business.

Regular business hours for the bar are 2 p.m.-midnight Tuesday through Saturday. A grand opening party is scheduled July 18 with live music from The Pretty Lonesome, according to a Facebook post.

Kennedy purchased Bruno's Italian Kitchen in January from Matt Clark and Sean Levy. Bruno Gargiulo started the restaurant in 2003, according to past reporting.