Weston, Missouri · Founded 1980 · Building: 1840s cellar complex
An underground Weston pub in nineteenth-century brewery cellars, where a modern Irish-bar operation occupies old lagering vaults.
O'Malley's 1842 Pub operates below the former Weston Brewing Company complex in Weston, Missouri. German immigrant John Georgian established the original brewery in 1842, and five stone cellars excavated in the 1840s were used to cool and lager beer. The present restaurant and pub are later uses: the O'Malley family opened the restaurant in the late 1970s and the underground pub in the 1980s.
German immigrant John Georgian establishes the original Weston brewery operation.
Source: Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"; National Trust for Historic Preservation, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri," January 21, 2016
Five stone lagering cellars are developed in the 1840s to cool and store beer; the exact completion year of each cellar is not established in the sources reviewed.
Source: Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"
A fire nearly destroys the brewery; later owner August Kunz rebuilds it, according to the documented brewery chronology.
Source: Northeast News, "Oldest brewery west of the Hudson River," June 28, 2022
Financial problems lead to a shutdown of brewing operations; the brewery later restarts under new ownership.
Source: Northeast News, "Oldest brewery west of the Hudson River," June 28, 2022
The Weston Brewing Company begins a later operating period that continues through 1901, producing more than 12,000 barrels annually at its peak according to a regional brewery-history account.
Source: Northeast News, "Oldest brewery west of the Hudson River," June 28, 2022
Prohibition-era law ends the site's brewing operations; later histories describe the brewery as forced to close during Prohibition.
Source: Northeast News, "Oldest brewery west of the Hudson River," June 28, 2022; National Trust for Historic Preservation, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri," January 21, 2016
The O'Malley family begins restaurant operations at the former brewery complex in the late 1970s; the underground pub opens later, in the 1980s.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri," January 21, 2016
A Weston Brewing Company revival operates from 1997 to 1999 beside the original stone walls.
Source: Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"
Michael Coakley and Corey Weinfurt purchase the 3.2-acre brewery complex and continue operating O'Malley's Pub, America Bowman Restaurant, and Weston Brewing Company.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri," January 21, 2016; Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Weston Brewing Company's history says five stone cellars dug in the 1840s were used to lager and chill beer in solid oak tanks. The National Trust likewise identifies the underground pub as occupying cellars of the nineteenth-century Weston Brewing Company.
The 1842 date belongs to John Georgian's original brewery. The National Trust reports that the O'Malley family opened the restaurant in the late 1970s and the underground pub in the 1980s.
The documented brewery history includes a major 1860 fire, a shutdown in 1872, later ownership changes, Prohibition closure, and a short 1997–99 revival before the current 2005-era operation. The history is one of repeated interruption and revival, not continuous brewing.
The National Trust describes O'Malley's as almost 60 feet underground, while Atlas Obscura says John Georgian dug cellars more than 50 feet below ground. No geological or architectural survey was reviewed that confirms the candidate's exact 55-foot measurement or identifies the deepest public room.
Current brewery history identifies five stone cellars excavated in the 1840s. The candidate's three-vault description is not supported by the sources reviewed.
The National Trust and the brewery's own history state that Coakley and Weinfurt purchased the 3.2-acre complex in 2005 and remain responsible for its current operations. This review did not inspect deed or corporate records separating business ownership from real-property title.
Visit Missouri and the current Weston Irish site list O'Malley's 1842 Pub at 500 Welt Street, Weston, with active hours, restaurant service, live music and brewery-tour information.
O'Malley's Pub has operated continuously as an Irish pub since 1842.
The 1842 date belongs to John Georgian's original brewery and its cellar system. The O'Malley family opened restaurant operations in the late 1970s and the underground pub in the 1980s.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri," January 21, 2016; Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"
The underground pub consists of three 1842 limestone vaults.
The current brewery history identifies five stone cellars dug during the 1840s. The candidate's three-vault figure was not supported.
Source: Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"
O'Malley's Pub is exactly 55 feet underground.
Reliable descriptions place the pub more than 50 feet or almost 60 feet underground, but no reviewed engineering or geological survey establishes an exact 55-foot depth.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri," January 21, 2016; Atlas Obscura, "O'Malley's Pub in Weston"
The historic brewery operated continuously from 1842.
The brewery history includes a fire, financial shutdown, Prohibition closure and later revival periods. The 2005 operators revived brewing and hospitality use at a site with a discontinuous history.
Source: Northeast News, "Oldest brewery west of the Hudson River," June 28, 2022; Weston Brewing Company, "Tour the Brewery"
The site survived because its deep limestone cellars remained adaptable after the original brewery's closures, Prohibition shutdown, and later disuse. The O'Malley family repurposed the space for dining and music, and Michael Coakley and Corey Weinfurt expanded that reuse after purchasing the complex in 2005 to operate O'Malley's Pub, America Bowman Restaurant, and Weston Brewing Company.
O'Malley's Pub did not begin as an Irish pub in 1842. The brewery was founded in 1842, while the National Trust reports that the O'Malley family opened restaurant operations in the late 1970s and the underground pub in the 1980s.
O'Malley's Pub is commonly described as more than 50 feet or almost 60 feet underground in old brewery cellars. This review did not locate an engineering or geological survey that verifies the often-repeated exact measurement of 55 feet.
Yes. Weston Brewing Company's history says that five stone cellars excavated in the 1840s were used to lager and chill beer. The current underground pub occupies part of that former brewery-cellar system.
Yes. Visit Missouri and Weston Irish list O'Malley's 1842 Pub at 500 Welt Street with active restaurant/pub service, live music and brewery-tour information.
National Trust and Weston Brewing Company history identify Michael Coakley and Corey Weinfurt as the people who purchased the brewery complex in 2005 and operate the pub, restaurant and brewery businesses. This review did not independently verify the current deed or legal entities.
No. The site's documented brewery history includes fire, financial shutdowns, ownership changes, Prohibition closure, and later revivals. The current operation should be understood as a revival at a historic brewing site rather than uninterrupted brewing since 1842.
500 Welt St, Weston, MO 64098
(816) 640-5235
The pub is in historic underground cellars; Visit Missouri lists live music on Friday through Sunday and recommends checking current hours or brewery-tour details before visiting.