INDIANAPOLIS — Several dozen people lined up outside the Claddagh Irish Pub on South Meridian Street Saturday morning, waiting to get inside one last time.
Michah and Nikki Elliott drove in from Mooresville with their twin sons. Michah said they came to get a memento or two.
"We met at the Claddagh 14 years ago, so it has special meaning to us," he said.
Nikki added, "We just want a Claddagh emblem so every time we look at it, we'll have a memory of where it all started."
They came for the liquidation sale, where everything was for sale, even the door handles and light fixtures.
As Lainna Cohen with Norle Investments said, "if it can be pulled off the wall it is for sale."
Because of the pandemic, there was no auction. Instead, ten people at a time were allowed inside to look around. Instead of bidding, the sale price of each item was listed.
The biggest item for sale? The large bar, handmade in Ireland and initially worth $1.5 million.
Cohen was quick to say, "We're not asking for $1.5 million whatsoever. It goes regardless. We just hate to see it scrapped."
The once-popular pub closed last March because of the pandemic and never re-opened. Proceeds from the sale will go toward paying back rent according to Cohen.
Those most interested were buying for restaurants and looking for equipment along with benches, tables and chairs, not to mention all the silverware, dishes and glassware.
One man left with a mounted fish, saying "it's just a mackerel we found and wanted to put it in the house for the man cave."
Pat Mullin bought a few odds and ends, including a tile with a Gaelic verse.
"I grew up in Indianapolis and have a lot of fond memories of the Claddagh for business meetings or whatever," he said.
One woman picked up a menu "just for the nostalgia."
A man bought two old, weather-beaten wooden rowboats and set of oars hanging from the ceiling. He said he planned to resell them, along with several other items he bought.
One man who celebrated his 21st birthday at the bar left with a Newcastle Brown Ale mirror for his wife, who grew up near Newcastle, England.
Asked how he felt about last call for the Claddagh, he said, "Restaurants are tough business even when you're not in a pandemic. If it goes to someone paying the rent bill, then it will be good."
The downtown Claddagh opened in 2000. It was the first of 17 across the Midwest. Two others in Indiana, one in Fishers, the other Plainfield have also closed.
The sale will continue Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. if there is still merchandise left.