Bridget's Public House opens to public

Jun. 21—OSKALOOSA — As the lunch crowd filters into Bridget's Public House, owner Madonna Bowie is often there to greet them at the door. If not, she usually makes her way to their tables to welcome them.

Bridget's has been officially open since June 18, after they announced it on their Facebook page.

This may not be how Bowie, 66 and a former nurse, originally envisioned her retirement. But then Bowie grew bored.

After she left nursing, Bowie managed her husband Thomas's dental office until they both retired.

"We were retired for a year and I said I've got to have something to do," Bowie said. "Or a project, I should say."

She got the idea for Bridget's after visiting an Irish pub in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. She enjoyed the warm, welcoming feel. She said taht everybody there seemed to be enjoying themselves and decided Oskaloosa needed something like that.

"I threw the idea around with some friends, girlfriends, and then talked about it with maybe some building owners, just maybe on a whim. Then I went and looked at buildings. And THEN I told my husband," Bowie said. "And he looked at me and he said 'well, I guess I'll learn to bartend.'"

Bowie then started scouring Facebook Marketplace for furnishings and bar decor.

— The benches in the booths are recycled church pews.

— The 32-foot mahogany main bar top came from a biker bar in West St. Paul, Minnesota, that the city there shut down.

— The dried cedar planks of the stand-up bar came from a tree friends cut down, and offered to her.

— The hostess stand, Bowie found in Kirksville, Missouri on Facebook Marketplace.

— Assorted dining room tables and chairs, and furnishing from other closed bars.

— Twenty-eight simple stained-glass windows of varying dimensions that adorn the transom above the front windows, and a header over the bar that was custom-built to display them.

"And they turned out to be green. And they almost fit perfectly" in the transom above main front windows, Bowie said. "I think it was meant to be."

Family friend and dental patient Dustin Hite told Bowie about these windows that were stored at his law office. Hite is a parter at Heslinga, Dixon & Hite in Oskaloosa.

"What had happened was Madonna told me that they were opening a restaurant... and I said we've got some stuff," Hite said. "Because our law firm has accumulated various things of architectural interest over the years, including those windows."

The windows had been in storage at the law office for 40-50 years, Hite said.

Besides saving money — Bowie estimated she saved $8,000 to $10,000 — the repurposed furnishings give Bridget's an eclectic feel that she thinks ages better than new furnishings.

Bowie is keeping the menu simple while staff learns to work together.

Bowie named the bar/restaurant for her great-great-great grandmother, Bridget Dolan, who immigrated from Ireland in 1848 and settled in Clinton County.

Bowie said she plans to have a grand opening or ribbon cutting for Bridget's later in the summer, to allow more family to be there. Two of Bowie's children live on opposite coasts.

In the meantime, she is relying on word of mouth and excitement that had been building in the community in anticipation of her opening.

"My goal is that it proves to be very beneficial for the community, and bringing people into our community," Bowie said. "And I can say just from the week that we've been feeding people, and especially Friday and Saturday that those people came in — and they weren't our friends and family — came in and the overwhelming response was: 'Thank you. We really need this. We need this and Oskaloosa needs it.'

"By the first impressions, we're hitting the mark (with) what we've done," she added.

Jeff Wilford is a staff writer for the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].