ST. PAUL, Minn. - After nearly eight decades the iconic orange signs represent more than a bar.
"One of the last times I was out to dinner with my dad... and I'm going to cry... was here."
Stevie Kunz has been coming to O'Gara's for 50 years. For others, their first visit pre-dates the current owner.
"Not his grandfather, his great-grandfather. So I've been coming here for a few years."
Bill Bowler says he's witnessed all the changes those years have brought since 1941. The bar still pays tribute to the old barber shop it took over. The one owned by the father of Charles Schultz. The next change could trim all of it back.
"I think to stay relevant, we need to reinvent ourselves once in a while and this was a good opportunity for us to do that."
Dan O'Gara is proposing a new, smaller bar, that would fit into a retail and residential building. If you're wondering what it will look like, he says look across the street. He's working with the same company.
"Similar to that, I know it won't be as tall, it will probably be the same amount of stories but it won't be as tall because We're just not going to need the kind of height that Whole Foods needed," O'Gara said.
O'Gara says the original mural, the bar tops., belt driven fans and even the tin ceiling will remain.
"As long as O'Gara's is here, I think the feeling is what you really need."
Customers say they'll remain too.
"The thing that makes it O'Gara's is mainly our employees and our customers. It's always been that way."