After two years of renovations and strategic planning, Jon and Peter Finley opened Bar Lucci July 8. The brothers signed the lease at 257 N. Water St. in May of 2020.

Jon and Peter also own Lucci’s Pizza with their dad, William Finley. The plan is to eventually sell Lucci’s Pizza upstairs at Bar Lucci.

“We are grateful for Lucci’s Pizza. Without the pizza shop, we never would have been able to open this bar,” Jon said.

Jon and Peter’s original plan was to have the upstairs and downstairs area open at the same time. After looking over the cost, they decided to start with the bar downstairs. This way, they can get customers into the bar and start events, giving them a chance to save money to open the upstairs.

“The upstairs is coming; our plans were just submitted,” Jon said. “That will be where we have a kitchen selling Lucci’s Pizza and a venue with a stage.”

Bar Lucci hosts euchre tournaments every Wednesday night with drink specials. They also have a ping pong table inside for customers to use while they sip on a drink. Peter and Jon are working on getting video game nights in the works. They plan to bring in console video games and also have them available to play on the TVs.

“We want to do whatever works,” Jon said. “Even if we can bring in five people, we just love seeing people here.”

A patio that was recently installed on the side of the building that has brought in a lot of customers for the summertime.

“I’m grateful for this space. Our patio is new, people love to sit outside when it’s nice out,” Jon said. “Friday and Saturday nights have been great for our business.”

Stephanie Pulella, bartender at Bar Lucci, has been working since opening day.

“It has been great. We have been staying steady which is awesome considering we are a new business,” Pulella said. “Everything is fresh. I get to have control over making new cocktails which I love, and it’s a lot of fun here.”

With business staying steady throughout the week and busy on weekends, Pulella, along with the other employees, is excited to see what the upstairs will have to offer the Kent area.

Jon and Peter are overjoyed to finally welcome customers into their bar and let people see what Bar Lucci is really all about.

“We are really fortunate to be here as it has been a long, hard process. We are not traditional businessmen. We just wanted to do this because we want to be here, and we love the city,” Jon said. “We were ready to do something downtown, and our landlords have been unbelievably gracious. Without them and our staff, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Hours:

Sunday and Monday: Closed

Tuesday – Thursday: 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Friday and Saturday: 4 p.m. to 2:15 a.m.

Gianna Cicchi is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].