Becoming more than a rush-hour retreat

If you grew up anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line, chances are you had a formative tavern experience in a place that looks very much like Casey’s Irish Bar & Grille in downtown Los Angeles.

You probably shared some of your first grown-up beers standing around a vast wooden bar, surrounded by a similarly smoke-stained tin ceiling, heavily varnished wood paneling and odd artifacts collected through the decades. And so it is with Casey’s, a sprawling, subterranean tavern where you can slowly sip that Harp beer and study the historic photos of undeveloped L.A., the genealogical maps of Ireland and the framed sheet music -- sample title, “She Borrowed My Only Husband (And Forgot to Bring Him Back).”

Chances are, you’re among friends, or more likely, co-workers with whom you will forge lasting bonds over the course of many drinks. Casey’s has been a happy-hour institution since 1970 when the place was built to look purposely old by the same developers of the Tam O’Shanter Inn in Los Feliz, the Five Crowns in Corona del Mar and the original Lawry’s the Prime Rib. After three decades of booze, burgers and fries, the place has acquired an authentic patina that matches the early 20th century decor.

Try not to trip on the overstuffed briefcases of the lawyers, stockbrokers and bankers who populate the place, waiting out the rush-hour traffic before heading home.

“It’s the kind of place you come with your friends,” says a young woman who works at a nearby law firm. “You don’t come here to meet people.”

That may be changing as the bar’s new owners begin to connect with young residents of nearby apartments and lofts. About a year ago, Michael Winn bought the place with his St. Monica’s Catholic High School buddy Mark Verge, who also operates Westside Rentals. They’ve added music, later hours, an expanded menu and female employees.

“It was a real man’s man bar,” says Winn, who previously owned a boutique advertising agency. Of course, there’s now a Hollywood connection, and not just that Casey’s is often a film location. Winn and Verge were urged to buy a bar by another schoolmate, actor Jason Patric, who had a previous connection to the bar. It was a location in the Neil LaBute film “Your Friends & Neighbors,” which starred Patric.

Bolstered by their growing success, the partners are looking to add to their portfolio. What will they do next? Probably buy another downtown bar.

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Casey’s Irish Bar & Grille

Where: 613 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

When: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays; . 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Price: Beer $3.50 to $5; cocktails $4.25 to $6.50

Info: (213) 629-2353 or www.bigcaseys.com