The farewell party, it turns out, won’t be a farewell after all.
Less than two weeks after Halligan’s Bar announced plans to close in December following an 11-year run as one of Central Massachusetts’ busiest live music venues, its owners have found buyers who plan to keep the Auburn club going.
Dan Raymond and Mike and Katie Langway, the current owners of Day’s End Tavern in Oxford, take over at Halligan’s on Jan. 1, 2027, according to an announcement posted on Sunday.
And for regulars and musicians wondering just how much will change, the early answer appears to be: not everything.
Halligan’s said its current staff will remain, Trina Bertel will continue booking bands and all performances already on the calendar—including future dates—will remain scheduled.
“For all of you & us Halligan’s will remain our second home and we couldn’t be happier,” the owners wrote on Sunday. “Cheers to new beginnings, great music and many more fun times.”
The sale provides a somewhat unexpected second act for a venue that appeared headed toward its final curtain.
Bertel, her husband, Gus, and business partner Paul Brosnihan announced in July that Halligan’s would close Dec. 12 as they prepared to retire. The trio are spending the remaining months celebrating with the customers and musicians who helped turn the Auburn bar into a regional live music destination.
At the time, Bertel told the Worcester Guardian that she and her partners did not know what would happen to the building after they left.
“If we could hand the torch over to the next owner… or this is the ending of an incredible journey,” she said.
It turns out they will get to hand over the torch.
In Sunday’s announcement, the Halligan’s owners credited landlord Ray Butler with helping make the sale possible and introduced Raymond and the Langways as the people who will take the reins.
“Three wonderful people that you will all love!!!” the announcement states. “We wish so much continued success in their new journey and we are positive that they will do great things.”
Halligan’s opened in 2015 after Gus Bertel and Brosnihan took over the business. Over the next 11 years, the venue developed a following among local musicians and fans, regularly hosting cover bands, tribute acts and other performers while also holding benefits and community fundraisers.
When the retirement plans were announced, Bertel told the Worcester Guardian that the venue had become much more than she envisioned when it began.
“Halligan’s has become so much more than the vision I had 11 years ago,” she said. “An older building in a strip mall on a major route… to us it was gold. A space to bring people together to listen to so many amazing bands.”
She said then that the most difficult part of walking away was leaving the people who had become part of the Halligan’s community.
“Hands down … the absolute greatest part about Halligan’s has been the people,” Bertel said. “They have touched our lives beyond measure.”
Sunday’s announcement means that community will apparently still have a place to gather after the current owners retire.
Several questions remain, including whether Raymond and the Langways plan changes to the venue, its name or its operation after taking ownership; how the sale came together so quickly after the closing announcement; and how the new owners envision Halligan’s fitting alongside Days End Tavern.
For now, however, the Dec. 12 celebration that had been planned as Halligan’s final day will no longer mark the end of the venue.
Instead, it will mark the end of one era, with Raymond and the Langways set to begin the next one Jan. 1.
Have a story tip, community concern, or insight to share? Email Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org.
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