They say when a bar closes, you can sometimes hear the Bar Belle’s cry in the wind …

Mulligan’s Pub & Grille announced on its Facebook page today that it’s closing its doors for good. This is sad news, because it’s in the neighborhood and I loved their happy hour beer specials. I even got to know the staff and would bring my friends there to eat potato skins and watch U of L basketball games.

I can’t say I’m surprised, though. While Mulligan’s opened strong in 2009, taking over the old Kaelin’s space, its quality started deteriorating over the years. Just this past summer, the handful of times I went the air conditioner was broken and there was an infestation of fruit flies everywhere.

And on my last visit, in mid October, I watched a roach crawl across the bar. Luckily I wasn’t eating that night. I could tell the once-thriving pub was on its last legs, so I actually wrote Jon Taffer of “Bar Rescue” soon after my visit and nominated them for a bar that was in desperate need of rescuing. I never heard back, and unfortunately, now it’s too late.

R.I.P. Mulligan’s. You were loved.