Haff Whiskey Saloon is set to open it’s doors to the public Thursday, Oct. 13.
“We will have a soft opening to the public next Thursday,” said co-owner Lisa Hafford. The grand opening will be a bit later as the final details are still being made on the dining menu.
Lisa and Larry Hafford have ran a successful business in historic downtown Poplar Bluff since January of 2018. Haffy’s Pub and Grill has been a popular and frequented establishment not only by those looking to socialize or hear live music on the weekends, but also by hungry diners seeking lunch and dinner during the week.
In 2019, the Haffords purchased another building in the downtown area with little plans for the structure. “We originally purchased the building with the intention of just using it for storage,” said Hafford. “When we got started cleaning the place up we noticed it had several drop ceilings and once we got all of those gone we found all this amazing wood up there.”
The couple then decided they would utilize their amazing find and restore the old building, “we realized once we really got in there and started looking we truly had a diamond in the rough,” said Hafford.
Poplar Bluff Downtown Director Morgan McIntosh stopped in to visit the new business and said, “It is absolutely beautiful, speaking from the perspective of downtown Poplar Bluff we are incredibly grateful and excited about this opening up, they did a great job.”
The interior and exterior of the newly renovated building is that of an elegant saloon. The interior features a heavy wood element with original exposed brick walls, it is a synchronicity of old and new. Looking closely, dates and names can be seen stamped onto many of the bricks. The full bar area has comfortable seating for several and Hafford intends to serve a special cocktail menu featuring drinks like their signature Wild West cocktail which is a fruity concoction made with of course, whiskey. There will be frozen drink options available as well.
“Even though the dining menu is still in the works we wanted to go ahead and get opened so we can give people the opportunity to come in and check out the atmosphere here and see what we have done,” said Hafford.
Longtime Poplar Bluff resident Ashely Eaker said she is excited about the opening of the new business, “I think it is awesome, the decor is very western, I think that will appeal to a lot of people because it’s something we haven’t had a lot of in this area.”
Hafford said it has been a lot of work getting things organized and coordinated, but she has tremendous pride in what they have accomplished with the renovation.
“The pride we have in this building — we are still in awe ourselves of how beautiful everything turned out and we can’t wait to share it with the rest of the community.”
Haff Whiskey Saloon is located at 309 S. Broadway St. More information is available on the restaurant’s Facebook page.