Residents will soon be able to transport themselves to Ireland without ever leaving East Lansing.

And just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

The owners of the building at 327 Abbott Road are wrapping up renovations to the former site of Evergreen Grill, and they're almost ready to unveil what they hope will be a lucky charm — the Dublin Square Irish Pub.

With the last shipment of furniture that arrived Monday, straight from the Emerald Isle, the restaurant and pub should open within the first two weeks of March, owner Noel LaPorte said.

"Possibly by the end of next week — that's in a perfect world," LaPorte said. "It really depends on how quickly we finish the construction."

The building has undergone extensive renovations since August. In that time, the restaurant's designers have worked to create the Irish atmosphere they are looking for — complete with hand-carved mahogany wood and Irish-made Victorian benches.

"The Irish have a real flair for these types of establishments," LaPorte said. "Our designers have done world-class pubs all over North America, but they really brought something different to this."

The Dublin Square Irish Pub will be a sit-down atmosphere with full food service until 1 a.m. and limited choices until 2 a.m. — a change from other East Lansing establishments, which don't serve food past 11 p.m., LaPorte said.

"We feel there's a need," he said. "This is something nobody else is doing, and a lot of people want to get something to eat late."

Although the Dublin Square Irish Pub brings another alcoholic venue to the city's downtown area, economics and political science and pre-law senior Peter Tomchuck said that won't be so negative for the community.

"It's exciting — another nice spot can never hurt anyone," Tomchuck said. "There's never been any problems with the bars over there. Everything's really under control."

The City Council approved a revised special-use permit Feb. 20 to allow live entertainment and dancing in the restaurant. The entertainment would be featured about four nights each week following the dinner hour and would include live music, such as Irish folk music, LaPorte said.

Two council members voiced concern at the Feb. 20 meeting about the type of entertainment the restaurant will offer and whether it would blend with the East Lansing community.

"My concern is that if you're going to have Irish folk music — how many people are going to be dancing to it?" council member Beverly Baten said during the meeting.

"When you bring in other bands, I think it's going to change the whole interior of Dublin Square, which disappoints me."

Baten was the only council member who voted against the permit.

But LaPorte said Monday he has received positive feedback about the restaurant and isn't worried about straying from the restaurant's Irish atmosphere.

"Irish pubs are more lively by nature," he said. "The fact that people like music and want to dance to it — we don't see it as a negative. People know what we're trying to do."