O’Dwyers Public House has been a mainstay of the Laramie bar and restaurant scene for over twenty years. With a humble start, the pub-style Irish public house was originally opened in a strip mall in Laramie in 2001 by Deidre O’Dwyer. After a brief shutdown, it was reopened in its current location on Grand Avenue by Deidre, her sister and brother-in-law, Siobhan and Dwight Rowell, and her nephew James Grimes.
The building O’Dwyers occupies began as a variety of different businesses, starting as a motel. In 1975 the dome was built and sectioned off into four quadrants where a food court formed. Originally boasting a large plastic bubble as its dome, the food court hosted a donut shop and a historical pizza place, closing down their locations officially in 1994. The restaurant then became an under-21 music and disco joint, with a DJ stand and a bridge spanning the hallway to the bar over an aquarium.
Meanwhile, amid these businesses coming and going, Siobhan Rowell and her husband found themselves moving up in the food service world. With both of them having decades of experience, Siobhan and Dwight decided to go off on their own and begin their restaurant, founding the famous Library restaurant and bar in downtown Laramie. The Library, known for its comedic name and tagline “Don’t Lie to Your Mom-Tell Her You’re at The Library,” originally got its name from a similar location that Dwight had been to in Arizona in his youth.
After successfully running the Library for a handful of years, Siobhan and Dwight sold it off and retired, until Deirdre and James proposed opening up O’Dwyers and restructuring the business. With James managing the bar and kitchen, Siobhan handling the books and technical background, and Deirdre utilizing her knack for managing and people skills, O’Dwyers began and quickly grew into the restaurant it is today. Known best for its historical Irish culture, extensive beer list, and traditional cuisine, O’Dwyers is filled with regulars daily. Many of the patrons will tell you they’ve been going for years. With such a tight-knit culture, it’s clear why the public house has remained open and successful for so many long years.
Unlike many restaurants in Laramie, the clientele of O’Dwyers is rarely groups of college students or out-of-town tourists. Rather, the regulars make up the heart and soul of the business. From tables of cribbage players to the couple who come in every Sunday morning to an already prepared table with their coffee hot and ready, O’Dwyers is the epitome of a classic family-owned experience. Homemade desserts and a wide selection of Irish whiskeys mark the finishing touches on what is considered a hidden gem in the Laramie dining and drinking world. Featuring a rich history and dedicated owners, O’Dwyers is truly a staple of Laramie’s history.
