New bar on tap for downtown.

Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

Think of James Carroll as a barman with a vision.

The co-owner of The Horsehead and former co-owner of John Henry's is going solo with his latest venture. Jameson's - in the former Cafe Paradiso, across Broadway in downtown Eugene from The Horsehead - is expected to open in late October.

"I want to see something downtown, and it's not just for myself," Carroll said Friday. "I want to see a downtown entertainment district. I think something real cool could happen down here. If it can be thriving, then all of a sudden all the mall rats and stuff would go away."

The mall rats - plus panhandling, loitering and drug-dealing - drove Cafe Paradiso owner Greg Fleenor to call it quits in June after 10 years in business. Fleenor said at the time that doing business in Eugene's downtown core had been a constant struggle to overcome the negative effect of unsavory hangers-on.

But Carroll sees good things happening downtown, and not just the grand plans of developers who went public this summer with their concepts for a $180 million makeover to create at least 600,000 square feet of retail space along Broadway.

In fact, Carroll would prefer to see more homegrown businesses such as his own - nightclubs and restaurants, in particular - rather than the concentration of national franchises that some expect to be attracted by the potential redevelopment project.

"That (redevelopment) might be like a little piece of southern California right here in downtown," Carroll said. "I'd much rather have a downtown Eugene that's similar to Austin (Texas), or Seattle - something like that."

At Jameson's, at the northwest corner of Broadway and Olive Street, Carroll is focusing on the building's woodworking and a bar lineup that's strong on beers and whiskies, Irish and otherwise. He expects to offer about a dozen taps for draught beers, from Pabst to regional seasonals to Guinness.

The iron-fenced courtyard that was a mainstay for Cafe Paradiso also will be a big part of the formula for Jameson's.

"The smokers in town need a place," Carroll said.

He won't be offering live entertainment - he described that as "a headache" and one of the reasons he sold his interest in John Henry's - but wants both of his establishments to be part of an entertainment district that he thinks could be a Eugene-sized version of New Orleans' Bourbon Street.

David Green, an inspector for the Eugene office of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, said a liquor license for the new bar probably won't be issued for about another three weeks because of remodeling that still needs to be completed.

That corresponds with Carroll's target opening date of Oct. 28, for the Celtic New Year.