Soccer pub kicks off on C-Street

To prove its commitment to provide a welcoming environment for soccer fans, a new sports-focused pub on Commercial Street opened its doors for the first time before the crack of dawn on Feb. 7.

Dozens of patrons visited Mumbles1888 during its soft opening at 504 E. Commercial St., said General Manager Bailey Turner, as the first of a day’s full of matches from the Premier League – a professional soccer league in England – began playing locally at 6:30 a.m. The pub is the latest concept from Neil and Christina Chanter, owners of Springfield Brewing Co. and sister company Ty Iechyd Da Distillery.

“Our opening weekend went really well,” Turner said, noting officials didn’t announce the launch on social media until the day before as the business had to first receive its occupancy permit. “We’ve known there’s a big community of Premier League fans just from talking to people. We knew there was people that were looking for somewhere to get together and watch.

“Both early mornings were really busy,” he added. “People really came out, so we’re excited. We think we’re going to be able to build something really cool and special here.”

Early mornings are customary for American fans wanting to catch live Premier League soccer matches on weekends, said Turner, who is a longtime supporter of Everton, a team from the Liverpool area.

“People that are Premier League fans are used to waking up early on Saturdays, cracking a beer on the sofa and watching the game,” he said. “So, I think it was fun for them to get to have a place to come and watch with other people.”

Mumbles serves a dozen SBC beers on tap, with six of those rotating, along with canned brews and a full line of spirits from Ty Iechyd Da, Turner said. The venture was inspired by Amsterdam Tavern, a soccer pub in St. Louis, which has a two-ingredients-or-less menu for its cocktails and walls covered in sports memorabilia, Turner said.

That’s also the plan for Mumbles, Turner said, noting people have been bringing in items such as soccer flags, banners and scarves for inclusion on the walls.

“Everything in here is donated already from people that have dropped stuff off,” he said. “We keep a list. When people drop stuff off, we put their name on the list, where their items hang. At any time, they can come grab it, and they can give us something else to swap out.”

Since Mumbles has no kitchen, on-site food will mostly involve imported Irish and British snacks, such as Tayto potato crisps and Mr. Porky pork rinds. However, Turner said customers are welcome to bring in outside food while watching the pub’s lineup of sports, which also includes rugby, American football and currently the Winter Olympics. Plans also are in motion to air Formula 1 races when the new season begins next month.

“We are in a really cool spot here on C-Street. We have a lot of restaurants,” he said. “So, what we wanted to do was be like, ‘How can we support all the restaurants on C-Street?”

Nearby restaurant Van Gogh’s Eeterie has a special menu posted inside Mumbles offering a variety of food options where customers watching a match can just mention the pub when they order and get 20% off the bill.

“We’re working out doing some more of that with some of the different restaurants as well,” Turner said.

Mumbles fills space formerly occupied by Ruthie’s, which reopened nearby at 1611 N. Campbell Ave. in late 2024, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Building attention

The venture fills roughly 1,800 square feet of the two-story building that the Chanters purchased last year via LowerDeck94 LLC. The property housing Mumbles was formerly owned by Winged Foot Investments LLC, according to Greene County assessor records.

Christina Chanter said the building purchase wasn’t originally the plan, but the renovations deemed necessary for the 138-year-old structure moved them in that direction rather than signing a lease. She declined to disclose startup costs, including the building purchase price.

“Once we began really looking at the work we felt we should do to bring this space back to what it could be, it made sense,” she said via email.

The building had several layers of wooden flooring, Turner said, adding that all of it had to be replaced. The pub now has concrete floors. Additionally, renovations included the walls, which were previously covered with plaster.

“We scraped away the plaster to go back to this, which is the original brick,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. It has a lot of character. It was a big project.”

Considering all the renovations, Chanter said she’s hopeful the building will structurally be solid for another 138 years.

Pointing out the back bar, Turner said that remains from when the building housed the Frisco Tap Room for around 60 years, one of many businesses to occupy the structure over time. He estimated the bar area is around 90 years old now. Also, a drink rail in the pub near the front door is being used from the original bar at Ruthie’s, he said.

“We tried to keep some of the cool, old stuff and also kind of make it nice, new and exciting,” he said.

On C-Street

The latest expansion for SBC comes after the company opened One 2 Five Taproom in Rogersville and Mile 6 Taproom in Willard, both in 2024. Chanter said it ultimately was an easy decision to launch its new venture on Commercial Street.

“For this project, we wanted to find a spot in an either historic or niche part of town that could support this unique concept,” she said. “We looked at several spots, and Commercial Street really checked off all the boxes. The community of residents and business owners on Commercial Street is incredible. There is so much support, interest, vitality and passion for what they do.”

The property includes a two-bedroom upstairs apartment at 506 E. Commercial St. that the Chanters plan to lease to a long-term tenant within the next few months. 

As for its name, Mumbles1888 has multiple origins, said Turner, who previously was general manager at One 2 Five Taproom. Mumbles is the name of a small village on the south Wales coastline, near Swansea, and 1888 was the first year that the East Commercial Street building was first occupied and open for business. The year 1888 also is the first one for the English Football League, Turner said, adding Neil Chanter was born and raised in Wales.

Turner said he is one of three employees that will regularly staff the pub, although several others from the various SBC locations will rotate to help as needs arise.

That need for more staffing could come this summer as the World Cup arrives in North America. The U.S., Canada and Mexico will be host countries, with Kansas City one of the sites for matches. Turner expects business will be booming at Mumbles, which has a 99-seat capacity.

“We hope to do some special stuff. We’re working on how we can do food trucks, how we can maybe expand and do some outside screens,” he said. “We’re just kind of looking into some early stuff, but we’re definitely preparing for it to be a big, big time, for sure.”