OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A signature bar in Oshkosh is “rising from the ashes” after more than two years. The bar was a total loss, after an overnight fire, in 2019. On Monday, Mabel Murphy’s reopened and welcomed everyone back.
Owner Sean Felker still remembers the night he got a call Mabel Murphy’s was on fire. When he arrived, he said, “the whole front of the building collapsed,” the sign came down softly.”
That sign was the only thing to survive the fire that burned down Mabel Murphy’s in Oshkosh. While it’s part of the old building, it’s the symbol of a new beginning for the bar on Main Street.
“Since ’74 people going down Main Street you come down main street you see that sign you know it’s there,” said Felker. “We had to put the sign back up.”
Now, that sign welcomed back all the regulars to celebrate being back in business.
“All our friends are here I pretty much know every face in the bar tonight,” said Deb Schreiber of Oshkosh. She said she’s been coming to the bar since the late ’80s, when her twin brother was a bartender.
Besides the familiar faces, Felker tells FOX 11 there’s a few other parts of the new bar the customers will recognize.
“We had to make sure it was dark, had to keep the carpet, you had to keep the black bar top with the padded rails. Those were must haves.”
The Oshkosh Fire Department says it’s not everyday you see something that burned to the ground, come back to life.
“This was a parking lot when we left and to see it like this, this is amazing,” said John Holland with the Oshkosh Fire Department.
The firefighters aren’t the only ones in disbelief to see the bar back in action.
“It’s just good to be back cause it’s just that corner bar you love to be at,” said Peter Abraham of Oshkosh.
Mabel Murphy’s also sold t-shirts to celebrate the re-opening. The money raised was given to the Oshkosh Fire Department as a thank you for their work.
