Fitzgerald's Pub opened this afternoon in the Old Post Office on East Avenue in Lockport. (PHOTOS BY HEATHER N. GRIMMER / ENP PHOTOGRAPHER)

BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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The bar incorporated the tree that had been in the space formerly occupied by the  Chapel.

Fitzgerald's Pub, located for the last five years on Ohio Street, has moved somewhere new — or old, rather.

The bar opened for business at 4 p.m. on the first floor of the Old Post Office, 1 East Ave.

Owned by Cheryl Chiappone, the bar will be open from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Saturday through Thursday, and until midnight on Fridays, serving beer, wine, spirits and food.

Darrin Chiappone, manager of the bar, has run Fitzgerald's on Ohio Street for the past five years. Before that, he ran the Summit Street Saloon.

You could say the bar life is in his blood as his grandfather, Albert Patrick Fitzgerald, owned a bar on West Avenue for a number of years and is the former president of the Redmen Club.

Darrin Chiappone came into the bar business on his own, however. The former professional boxer and steel worker got into the business due to an injury.

He said he's pleased with the new space in the Old Post Office. In fact, he was looking to open there years ago, but ended up on Ohio Street. Earlier this year, he was looking to move from Ohio Street and began courting the UAW hall on Vine Street when he noticed that the post office was for sale.

He called his friend Steve Tallarico, who owns the building. Tallarico said he wasn't sure of the building's future at the time. The Chapel — Tallarico's biggest tenant — was moving out. Chiappone decided he was moving in.

Manager Darrin Chiappone discusses the beers the bar has available. A delivery truck filled this cooler shortly after this photo was taken.

"I just loved the building," he said.

The bar features craft beers on tap, including Warsteiner, Hamburg Small Town, Hamburg IPA, Sam Adams seasonal (currently Octoberfest), and Third Shift Amber Lager. In bottles, the bar features standard fare and some locally brewed beers including Ellicottville and Flying Bison. Leonard Oaks Winery will be creating a Riesling and a Chardonnay especially for the bar. Chiappone expects the wines in mid- to late-October.

For food, Fitzgerald's will offer beef on weck, steak sandwiches and turkey standwiches as well as appetizers. They'll also have desserts from their new neighbor, the Barker Chocolate Box.

"We're all trying to work together," Chiappone said.

All eight of Fitzgerald's Ohio Street employees are making the move to East Avenue, Chiappone said.

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