The restaurant opened in early October with staff brought over from the Lamplighter. The Lamplighter was severely damaged by a fire September. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, owner Herb Knutson, acquired a new building at 209 N. Minnesota Street and moved staff into this location.

The idea was to preserve the spirit of the Lamplighter going at this new location.

The restaurant worked hard to get the building operating in time for Oktoberfest and was successful, however 209 Pub was unable to bring back the full Lamplighter menu, until now.

Kitchen Manager Brandon Roiger said when the first moved into the new location, the building had limited range space and fryers. Staff was unable to accommodate the full Lamplighter menu. As of last week, that changed and the kitchen is ready to go. They even have more pace to do large volume orders.

The 209 Pub & Grill is named after its address, 209 N. Minnesota St. The restaurant is owned by Herb Knutson, who opened it after fire closed The Lamplighter across the street.

Roiger said they tried to keep the most popular menu items from Lamplighter.

There were a few entrees that did not make the transitions but the favorites in place. They even able to bring back the 12 oz. Ribeye.

Roiger said the Lamplighter burger and Jimmy Z burger back and were the most popular burgers. Customers also love the Philly Cheese, French Dip and any of the pulled pork option

The new menu also includes two brand new ideas: Jalapeno poppers and the 209 Juicy Lucy.

Roiger said the Juicy Lucy was added to the menu because few places in the area sell a Juicy Lucy burger. The Lucy was going over quite well with customers.

General Manager Becky Portner said many people were excited to see the new menu, though last week’s weather had prevented many from dining-in.

Portner said the greatest challenged at 209 Pub is parking. Compared to the Lamplighter, there is limited parking space on Minnesota Street and over the last few days massive snow backs have reduced the parking further. Portner advises customers to use the parking lot behind Lamplighter for now.

As for the old Lamplighter, Portner confirmed it has been sold. The original plan was to rebuild the Lamplighter, the costs were in $1 million to $2 million range.

However, the spirit of Lamplighter will continue at 209 Pub & Grill with the same staff and now the same food.

Portner said anyone calling in an order at 209 Pub & Grill can still use the old Lamplighter number but they also have a new number: 354-2091.