HARBOUR GRACE, N.L. — The historic 1830 courthouse in Harbour Grace looks pretty cheerful these days.
A lot of woeful tales have been heard and told inside its walls. But early in the new year, laughter will be on the docket, as the first steps are taken toward a complete transformation of the space.
Brenda O’Reilly and Craig Flynn, co-owners of YellowBelly Brewery in St. John’s, bought the courthouse in the spring of 2019, only a few months after acquiring a former Catholic cathedral in the Conception Bay North community. The church will eventually become a brewery, beer garden, spa and hotel.
“It’s a huge project that we’re planning — a tourism, regional project out there,” said O’Reilly. “The courthouse and the cathedral are all part of the bigger plan, and of course, the cathedral does need more work, because it was more dilapidated.”
O’Reilly said the heat was kept on while the provincial government looked for a new owner, while the church was left vacant with no heat for years. The courthouse building hasn’t been open to the public since provincial court last sat there at the end of 2015.
“Craig and I, my husband and business partner, we just think the courthouse is magnificent,” O’Reilly said. “We can’t wait for people to see it.”
First event
On Jan. 29, 2021, Newfoundland comedian Mike Lynch is launching his “Snow Mageddon” tour of the province with a sold-out show at the Harbour Grace Court Room. O’Reilly confirmed this will be the first event hosted in the architecturally unique stone structure.
“We’re looking forward to that,” she said. “Hopefully, it will be the beginning. We will start to market and advertise (the building) then. We wanted to make sure it was ready to open before we did any of that. It’s a beautiful building.”
“It’s a huge project that we’re planning — a tourism, regional project... The courthouse and the cathedral are all part of the bigger plan, and of course, the cathedral does need more work, because it was more dilapidated.” — Brenda O'Reilly
There two courtrooms in the building — a main one and a second smaller one below it next to the jail cells and jail yard.
“The lower courtroom and the jail cells, plus the jail yard in the summer, will be what we’re calling a Court Room #2 Speakeasy,” O’Reilly explained. “That’s where you can sit in ... a lavish seating environment for a speakeasy type of thing, or you can also sit in a jail cell ... with a wooden table and wooden bench. It’s going to be a speakeasy that celebrates the history of that particular building through the law and order.
“Then the upstairs courtroom, which is the larger one where the trials would’ve happened, that’s going to be an events space. Like the Michael Lynch show, which is a comedy show, it can be live theatre or live performance. It can be a small wedding. It can be a conference. It can be a meeting room. It’s our multi-purpose room for events.”
Spring plans
A full kitchen will be on the same level as the main courtroom, but won’t be ready until some point in the spring. O’Reilly likewise expects the speakeasy will open in the spring. Catering for events will not be an issue between now and then, as they can utilize the kitchens of YellowBelly or O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub.
They’ll also eventually make use of the land behind the courthouse for outdoor gatherings. That land was most recently used for a community garden that has since relocated.
“And the bigger project is still on track to go ahead — it’s just that it got slowed down by a year because of the pandemic,” O’Reilly said, adding she’s confident tourism will bounce back in the province.
Thank you @MotherBean0316
— Brenda O'Reilly (@brendaoreilly) December 13, 2020
Our Harbour Grace project is not the past, not the present but it is the future & for this it fills us with hope & positively 🙏 next year Christmas in the old courthouse will be magical 🌲 https://t.co/0hpl1dqe43
O’Reilly and Flynn have also restored the former jailer’s residence on the west end of the building and will eventually use that as part of the hotel operation once work on the cathedral is finished.
Of note, the courthouse builder and architect was Patrick Keogh. He’s the same Newfoundland builder and architect responsible for The Stone House on Kenna’s Hill in St. John’s, a place where O’Reilly previously owned and operated a restaurant.
“It’s like I’ve come full-circle with Patrick Keogh,” she said.
Andrew Robinson is a business reporter in St. John's.
