Open bar: Longbranch reopens solid saloon tradition
New version of Lake City’s iconic bar is non-smoking, soon to add food service.
Longbranch Saloon Managing Partner Anita Irwin pulls a Yuengling draught for a customer soon after opening Monday afternoon. Florida bars were allowed to open at 50 percent capacity Monday after covid-19 shutdown restrictions were lifted by the governor. The Longbranch, one of Lake City’s oldest bars, re-opened as a non-smoking venue. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)
Longbranch Saloon Managing Partner Anita Irwin (left) talks with customer Cheryl Knight Monday afternoon at the bar. The Longbranch opened Monday after being closed 162 days during the government-mandated covid-19 shutdown. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)
Bar patrons Justin Hudec (left) and Kristin Russell, both of Lake City, share a laugh with Anita Irwin, shortly after the Longbranch Saloon opened Monday afternoon. Hudec and Russell, who were the first customers in the bar Monday, said they also were in the Longbranch on St. Patrick’s Day when the first shutdown order came through. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)
Customers sat in the parking lot and waited for the turn of the lock at 4 p.m. Monday, as Lake City’s iconic Longbranch Saloon opened a new era to its longstanding base of loyal patrons.
