Trolley Square's C.R. Hooligans to close Sunday

UPDATE: Owners of C.R. Hooligans have announced they will close the sports bar following a final night of beer and wings Saturday, July 26. Renovations for the upcoming Trolley Tap House will begin shortly after.

An open-air, craft beer-themed bar called Trolley Tap House will replace C.R. Hooligans in Wilmington's Trolley Square this fall.

"This is going to be a destination beer bar that focuses on craft beer culture," says Patrick Jones, the consultant working on the new taproom for Joe McCoy, owner of C.R. Hooligans and its next-door neighbor, Catherine Rooney's. "It will be laid back and refined at the same time."

The bar's outdoor patio will be raised to be level with the restaurant's floor and a pair of 10-by-7 garage doors will be installed, allowing for an airy atmosphere in the heart of Trolley Square.

Trolley Tap House will have an industrial look with concrete bar and cocktail table tops, steel diamond plating on portions of the floor and caged light bulbs hanging up above.

There will be at least 24 beers on tap with servers knowledgeable in the burgeoning craft beer world, able to suggest food and beer pairings, he says. A new menu will feature "outside-the-box pub food" and live music will be offered.

FacebookandTwitteraccounts for Trolley Tap House appeared online earlier this week and has sparked speculation with its coy posts.

While craft beer offerings at Trolley Square bars and restaurants including Kelly's Logan House and Satsuma Asian Kitchen & Bar have increased recently, there are no exclusive craft beer-themed taverns in the trendy, bar-filled neighborhood.

"It's going to be blue collar and upscale people all in the same place with a shared interest without an uppity atmosphere like at wine tastings where people feel intimidated," says Jones, who previously worked at Two Stones Pub and Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. "The goal is to pair beers with peoples' palates, get them involved and make this whole culture approachable. People don't realize what they like until you get it in front of them." ."

C.R. Hooligans, a sports bar painted in University of Delaware-inspired blue and gold, opened in 2006 and is still open. An exact date for the opening of Trolley Tap House in its place has not been announced.