Eric Mostrom, the 38-year-old Florida businessman who purchased the former Arts Council building on Church Street in Waynesville last January, has bought the downtown Irish pub O’Malleys.

Mostrom bought the Main Street building and business on Aug. 31 for $875,000 from Dana and Ken Rinker of Orlando, Fla.

The small pub was started in April 1991 by Dana Rinker’s brother, Greg Rinehart. Over the last 14 years it has become something of a Main Street institution. The pub has served as a popular lunchtime meeting spot for Main Street professionals while also providing a friendly place for the working stiff to enjoy a cold pint after a hard day on the job. Rinehart credits the pub’s success and longevity to its ability to fill a unique niche in the Waynesville restaurant scene.

“When we opened, Waynesville really had very few places to go. We were a quaint little community pub where everybody got to know your name and you met people and could conduct business. We appreciated our customers and they appreciated us. It was a great time, and I’d do it again in a second,” said Rinehart.

Mostrom is mindful of O’Malley’s long history in the downtown community and wants to preserve those aspects of the pub that have made it a success.

“The clientele seem extremely loyal. It’s their spot. I have my spots too, and I wouldn’t want anyone coming in to them and messing them up. The business makes enough to cover the expenses, so we are not going to break something that already works. We are going to make it better,” said Mostrom.

With this in mind, Mostrom and Dan Elliott, a friend and partner in the business who will manage the day-to-day operations, are keeping the O’Malley’s name and the Irish pub theme as well as the popular karaoke on Tuesday nights and live music on weekends. Changes to the bar will be incremental at first with major interior renovations to be implemented a year or two down the road.

“Short term we are going to put in heavy duty smoke filters to improve the air quality and get some bigger and better televisions. We are also going to expand the menu with more traditional Irish fare and increase the number and consistency of our specials,” said Elliott.

Other improvements to take place in the next few months include expanding the days of operation to include Sunday, expanding the hours of operation to include breakfast (6 a.m. to 11 a.m.), offering a lunch delivery service, providing wireless Internet access and adding a small bar in the downstairs pool room.

Physical changes to the interior of the building will include removing the private, covered booths that run perpendicular to the wall and replacing them with a long bench seat that will run along the wall the length of the restaurant with free-standing tables and chairs on the other side.

“Those booths trap a lot of smoke and can be confining. We want to open it up so people can enjoy those beautiful green ceiling tiles and make the seating more flexible to accommodate more people,” said Mostrom.

Mostrom and Elliott also eventually want to move the kitchen downstairs to accommodate a larger bar, build an outdoor patio behind the restaurant above an existing garage and expand the basement pool room to accommodate more tables, video games and dart boards. While the major renovations likely won’t take place until the winter after next, Mostrom is confident they will be made.

“We want to take at least a season just to get a handle on the business, but it is going to happen. I like to think if you build it, they will come,” said Mostrom.

While Mostrom’s purchase of O’Malley’s is his first foray into the bar business, the sale of the pub ends the Rinker’s 12-year tenure as bar owners and begins the first time in the pub’s 14 year history that Dana’s family (who have owned and operated bars for four generations) has not been involved in its operation. However, while the Rinkers are appreciative of the customers that have supported them over the years and will miss the ready-made social life owning a bar provided, professional and family responsibilities made the sale too attractive to pass up.

“Being absentee owners is particularly difficult, especially when you live 600 miles away. Our children are getting older and it is harder for them to travel as often as we needed to. As my career becomes more involved, it is harder for me to get away,” said Ken Rinker, an architect. “We just thought it was time.”