Virgil is about to get a new place to watch sports, listen to live music and grab a bite to eat. Bricks & Barley is an upscale sports bar, featuring 24 local beers and an award winning chef.

The idea to open a restaurant occurred when the property came up for sale. Eymann asked a friend and cousin to join his dream to open a restaurant.

Bricks & Barley will be the first upscale sports bar in Virgil.

“There was a huge demand for a restaurant of this calibre, this style. People needed a change, so we thought we’d give them that change,” said John Eymann, owner and manager of Bricks & Barley.

The menu will feature typical sports bar food, like hamburgers and poutine, but also feature steaks and broasted chicken (deep fried in a pressure cooker).

Head chef Jeremy Clark Gilligan was a former member of Junior Culinary Team Canada, which ranked sixth in the world and won silver and gold in the Culinary Olympics. In 2016, he won the judge’s choice in the Community Care Downtown Chili Cook Off in St. Catharines.

The menu has a special take on typical bar food. They feature items like deep fried dill coins, instead of the entire pickle.

“We have some of your normal sports bar fare mixed with some elements of fine dining,” said Gilligan.

Their pulled pork sandwiches aren’t just your run of the mill simmered meat, it’s competition style. Meaning, it’s smoked for at least 12 hours. Once the smoke house is built in the back, they plan on doing competition style ribs. They will also feature wood oven pizzas, with a dill pickle pizza on the menu.

“You’re not going to leave here hungry, you’re going to get a good portion of food,” said Gilligan.

In the future, the restaurant will feature a 15-person, fine dining room with a five course tasting menu with one sitting a night.

“That way you create a buzz like ‘oh I want to get in there,’” said Gilligan.

A soft opening is planned for Jan. 18 and 19. Local rock band Vinyl Flux is set to perform on the grand opening Jan. 25.