WATERLOO - A new downtown bar will make it feel like St. Patrick's Day every day. Jameson's Public House, which opened to the public Feb. 27, is holding its grand opening today, and it's fitting given the holiday. The bar, owned by former City Council member Buck Clark, is a traditional cottage-style Irish pub - from the entertainment to the beer to the antiques hanging on the walls.

The pub came to be when the owner of the building, Jim Walsh, discussed starting an establishment with Clark in the former Dickey's Copy-Rite Press location.

"I had been in a lot of Irish pubs all over the world, and I didn't know why we didn't have any here," said Walsh. "I wanted to have an authentic Irish pub in town … and I wanted it to be in Waterloo."

Walsh and Clark had worked together before, and Clark owns and operates other establishments, including Monica's Cigar Bar just down the street from Jameson's. A deal was struck, with Clark owning the business and renting the space from Walsh. Building started on Jameson's in October, and Clark began purchasing antique Irish wares in November. The result is the well-worn look of a cottage-style Irish pub, complete with the wood from an 18th-century barn.

"We wanted it to look like it was old, and like it had been here a long time," said Clark, who worked with the Irish Pub Company, a Dublin-based business that specializes in the design and manufacture of authentic Irish pubs worldwide.

Clark also researched pubs to get an authentic look, and includes some Irish history on the walls of the pub. Celtic writing adorns both bathrooms - "baineannach" for female and "fireannach" for male - and one wall declares "in America … we beg no more." Beneath are a series of black-and-white photos with captions detailing the journey of the Irish to America.

"The early Irish Americans were persecuted. They struggled when they left their country, and they struggled when they got to the States," said Clark.

Even the pub's name has an Irish tie, though that was just a coincidental bonus.

"We were struggling with what to call it, and I wanted the name to have a relationship or meaning," said Clark. My daughter had my first grandson on Aug. 24, and she named him Jameson. The search ended. I knew immediately."

The pub's authentic atmosphere is aided by traditional Irish bands, which Clark hopes to bring in whenever he can.

"Our goal is to have Irish music. For the most part, what we're trying to get is traditional Irish bands. … Some of it is modern. It's not all flutes and bagpipes," said Clark, who will welcome the traditional band Ce (pronounced "K") today and Saturday.

Six Irish beers are available as well as 10 Irish whiskeys. Clark is quick to point out that the establishment is not a restaurant, though sandwiches, appetizers and Irish stew will be available every day, as well as rotating Irish favorites on the weekends.

With the addition of Jameson's, Clark and Walsh are hoping to turn their stretch of East Fourth Street into a well-rounded entertainment district. The block already boasts Monica's, Cu and the Cellar.

"We put it downtown because we believe in downtown Waterloo. We want people to come to Waterloo," said Clark.

"When people come they may not necessarily know which place they're going to go into that evening, but they can pick one of a number of them. It's starting to shape up. We need a couple more, but we're working on it," said Walsh.

The addition of Jameson's falls in line with Main Street Waterloo's overall goal for downtown, said Sherryl Newton, Main Street Waterloo board president.

"The Main Street philosophy always focuses on the historic and also the artistic qualities of a downtown area, whether through architecture or individual uniqueness of the storefronts," she said. "We're not looking for the cookie cutter-type of businesses, we're looking for the unusual."

Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com.