LYONS – What came first, the bronze eagle or the pub?

The answer is not as easy as one might think. But there is a new pub in Lyons, and it has on display the work of Chicago sculptor Marshall Svendsen. But first, welcome to the Bronze Eagle Pub.

Located at 7320 W. 39th St., brothers Rick and Joe Riggio bought the former Barb’s Hideaway, which Rick Riggio described as “basically the worst dive in Lyons.”

“We shut it down, gutted it and remodeled and reopened at the end of September,” Riggio said.

On Feb. 8, a grand opening was conducted, and for those who had not been to the pub before, they were made to decide between a whole mess of craft beers, 19 in all, among the standard brews.

There’s Revolution’s IPA and A little Crazy, Lagunitas, Two Brothers, Pink Turtle from Lyons’ own Buckle Down Brewery and more.

“We try to do more local craft beers than the nationwide one,” Riggio said.

While the building was gutted and remodeled, it still has old bones, and that’s probably a good thing.

“We had to work with what we had, Riggio said. “We basically wanted to open with the same neighborhood bar feel but with more quality products and a larger variety of craft beers than the typical neighborhood bar.”

The old bar never had a kitchen and neither does the new bar, Riggio said.

As for business, Riggio said it’s going good.

“It’s going good. It’s the first bar we’ve ever owned,” he said. “There was a learning curve there. We learned to promote.”

Not that Rick Riggio was a total stranger to the bar scene. Riggio has been in the amusement machine business for most of his adult life.

“Most of my customers have always been these neighborhood bars,” he said. “I’ve spent my whole life in these bars. You’ve seen them fail and some succeed. I’ve seen the mistakes people have made and learned from that.”

Now, here’s a story about a bronze eagle that captured the heart of a future bar owner. Riggio knows a guy, who happens to be a sculptor and has a studio in Chicago. His name is Marshall Svendsen, and Riggio was captivated by a bronze sculpture of an eagle that was on display at Belmont Harbor. That piece is now a part of the Purdue campus. So Riggio commissioned Spencer to sculpt another eagle.

That eagle was unveiled at the Feb. 8 grand opening. It has a prominent place under a spotlight on a wall .

Riggio said he is more excited about the artist than any other element of the bar’s story.