Last month, Alyssa posted about the re-opening of two new bars in the former Blind Pig spaces. There were a lot of questions from the community about the name change and what the future of these spaces looked like, so I took some time to talk to the new owners, Kristen and Jim Enderle, to ask them some questions about their bars, Hound’s Rest and Hound’s Court. We chatted about what drew them to these spaces and what they hope you’ll find when you come for a visit. And stay tuned: You’ll be able to see them for yourself at their grand opening on May 21st.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Smile Politely: This is an exciting venture. What made you want to buy not one, but two bars?
Kristen Enderle: We were originally interested in the Walnut Street location because of familiarity with the bar. We’ve always loved the design, had talked in the past about maybe opening a bar someday, and the fact that the purchase included real estate met a lot of criteria that we had talked about. When we first started discussing the Walnut purchase, the Neil Street location was in negotiations with another buyer. However, once that deal ultimately did not come to fruition, Chris [Knight] asked us if we would be interested in buying both locations. How could we split up the Pigs, and how can you pass up that beautiful courtyard space?
SP: What drew you to the previous Blind Pig Spaces?
Enderle: We have personal ties to the bars. My husband and I actually had our first date at one of the locations. As mentioned, we’ve loved their design and ambience, so when we decided to purchase them, we wanted to make sure to maintain the integrity of their legacy and honor the Blind Pig as much as we could.
SP: Why the name changes?
Enderle: We had to change the names because the Blind Pig Company name is tied to the brewery, which was being sold independently from the bars. Despite the Neil Street location being known as the Blind Pig Brewery, it has not actually brewed beer on location in years and no longer has any of the brewing infrastructure. All beer has been brewed at the big brewery on Market Street. Keeping the Blind Pig name would at the very least require licensing from the new owners, and there was no guarantee that whoever ended up purchasing the brewery would be interested in allowing that. As much as we would have preferred to have kept the name, ultimately we decided to rebrand while keeping as much of The Blind Pig bars the way people love and remember them. We’ve even purposefully left some of the various pig ornamentation in place just so people know we’re not trying to eliminate the history behind everything.
SP: How did you choose the theme? Why dogs?
Enderle: We are both dog lovers and have had multiple rescues at this point. If we were going to go through a rebrand, we wanted to make sure that the name meant something personal. Given that Knight set the bars up to have an English pub feel, we felt trying to come up with a brand that encompassed the feeling of a cozy pub and our love of dogs was a good start. We thought the name Hound’s Rest conjured just that, and when we decided to pursue the Neil Street purchase and its associated courtyard, Hound’s Court seemed like the logical next step. Since the Taylor Street location was formerly the home of Dandelion, that space had been nicknamed Dandy Pig, which is now officially Dandy Hound.
Dog adoption has always been very important to us and we want to do anything we can to raise awareness and hopefully help in that process. We want to work with local rescues to help get dogs and cats adopted, and our plan is to sponsor the adoption of a cat and a dog each month from several different rescues, ideally focusing on some of the animals that have had a bit of trouble finding their forever home. We obviously want the bars to be successful, but we also want to be a force for good in the community.
SP: Will the drink menu change? Will there be any specialty drinks?
Enderle: Yes! We will still have a good selection of craft beers (Neil Street has 13 on tap; Walnut Street has 27) and we are serving some CBD-infused drafts and mocktails for anyone who would rather not drink alcohol. I also added a wine selection at each location that was tested on our friends, so we will be serving some popular options! We are trying to be more inclusive and make it a space where people can come to grab more than just a beer. We are also opening up the Taylor Street bar early on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and doing screwdriver and mimosa specials as well as different sangria specials unique to each location.
There will be monthly drink specials that our head bartender is crafting, which will be specific to each location. We will also be offering custom cocktail service for anyone who rents out the bars for events.
SP: The previous bars definitely had their own unique vibes. What vibe will your bars have?
Enderle: The vibes will stay pretty close to how they’ve always been; we want them to remain the cozy, English pubs that they are. The Walnut Street location is a little bit brighter now, so each bar has its own distinct look. When I first moved here, I didn’t realize there were multiple Blind Pigs and I feel like it can be confusing to wander around and not realize the people you’re looking for might be one block over. We’re hoping that people associate that Hound’s Court has the courtyard, so this may help people find their way a bit.
I wanted to make sure each bar had a distinct look and name. This also gives people more options for renting since they can choose which space they want based on what feel they want to create for their event. The Dandy Hound (Taylor Street location) will be more like a 1920s lounge, the Hound’s Court (Neil Street) will stay basically like it is to honor the Blind Pig tradition. The Hound’s Rest (Walnut Street) has a more welcoming feeling, while not as dark as it used to be in order to facilitate monthly art gallery showings for artists in the community.
SP: Will there be food offered?
Enderle: We hope to partner with local food trucks and have already been in discussion with local businesses regarding food options. We also look forward to working with caterers for ticketed events in the future. As always, we are open to (and encourage) people to bring food from home or getting it delivered to the bars! I always thought that was one of the coolest things when I moved here was that people could come and have a potluck dinner with their friends. It’s such a cool environment and we want to get that feeling back where groups of strangers can hang out together and it feels like home.
SP: What has been the best part of taking over the bar? The hardest part?
Enderle: The best part has been meeting new people. I am not from the area originally, but I’ve lived here for almost ten years and this has allowed me to meet people who I may never have crossed paths with. I am also really looking forward to doing events and trying to create a space that people want to hang out in. We’re looking into doing murder mystery dinners, game nights, and other events to give people a reason to get out of the house and have fun, especially on nights where there may not be many other options. Anything we can do to help people realize that there are things to do downtown!
The hardest part has been not being able to share our story when we wanted to. We had to do a lot of thinking and research before we decided to move forward with the purchases, and we were worried that if we didn’t purchase them, someone might come in and completely tear them out to put something else in. We realize these are important spaces for a lot of people. We really went outside of our comfort zone to try to preserve this for everyone, while also updating things that need updating. We still have some things that we are working on, but we are a lot closer to where we want to be now than where we were a month ago, and hopefully people recognize and appreciate the changes we did make. We want to make sure everyone knows that we are here to help them keep these bars alive and honor what Chris [Knight] built while also allowing him to retire. We understand the confusion people may have felt in the recent weeks, so hopefully this will help put everyone’s mind at ease.
SP: What does the future of these spaces look like?
Enderle: Hopefully very busy! I want new people to come in and experience it! It’s a cool place to hang out; we have a really great group of core people who know these bars and come in regularly, and we want people to understand that it really is a place of inclusivity. I want everyone to be able to come in whether you are walking off the street, finishing up a long day of work, meeting friends, or if you’re just coming from a wedding. I want everybody to feel welcome and have a good time!
Hound’s Rest
120 N Walnut St
Champaign
Su-Th 3 p.m. to midnight
F + Sa 3 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Hound’s Court
120 N Neil St
Champaign
Su-Th 3 p.m. to midnight
F + Sa 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Dandy Hound
9 Taylor St
Champaign
Su noon to 3 p.m.
F + Sa noon to 3 p.m. + 7 p.m. to midnight