A La Carte: Norb's to reopen -- again -- on Saturday
22.05.12
Look for NORB ANDY’S TABARIN to officially reopen Saturday with new owners.
Will and Jessie Decker have been making some minor renovations and working on a menu in recent weeks. Will was director of banquets at the Crowne Plaza hotel, and Jessie has worked in food service and as a cocktail server.
“Norb Andy’s is the epitome of downtown Springfield,” Will Decker said. “It has all the classic elements. It has a long history in Springfield, and we’re excited about opening it up again.”
The business is in the lower level of the Hickox Building , 518 E. Capitol Ave., which was constructed in 1837 as a home for Virgil Hickox (the building is on the National Registry of Historic Places). The bar, at one time a speakeasy, was taken over by Norbert Anderson in 1937. He ran it for 42 years, and it became the go-to downtown watering hole and eatery for politicians, lobbyists and news reporters. Since then, the business has been open on and off, with several owners.
Source: The State Journal-Register