The Carbondale City Council gave the owners of Pinch Penny Pub the go ahead to build an addition on its premises, allowing the business to expand into a large, one-building entertainment center, at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Ann Karayiannis, part-owner of Pinch Penny, said the addition will link the existing Pinch Penny building to the former Saluki Theater, which was purchased by the owners of Pinch Penny earlier this year. She said this is the beginning of Pinch Penny’s plan to grow into an entertainment complex similar to facilities in Chicago.

Karayiannis said when the project is done several new things will be under the larger roof of the pub including a microbrewery, a game room, a quiet environment for people who want to relax and talk and a 500 seat venue for touring bands and other entertainers to perform in.

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She said having bands play in the theater will allow for a mellow setting in the existing pub and beer garden.

It would give our customers the opportunity to sit and talk with each other, eat good food, drink good beer and not be blasted by music, she said.

The tentative layout for the facility has the microbrewery in the existing pub near the area where pool tables are presently located. The game room is set to be in the lobby of the theater.

Karayiannis said Carbondale is located on the route of many major touring bands, similar to those that play at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, as they travel to Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago. She said the new venue at Pinch Penny will attract a lot of these bands as they pass through.

Bands come this way looking for a booking to pay their hotel bill, she said.

If the project goes as planned, the new Pinch Penny facility will have a capacity of over 1,200 people.

She said there are also plans to advertise the microbrewery along interstates to draw in tourists.

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Mayor Neil Dillard raised concerns over parking at the complex, but Karayiannis said Pinch Penny owners anticipated no problems because they purchased the former Saluki Theater parking spaces along with the building.

Dillard wished Karayiannis luck with the project.

I know you’ve done a lot of planning with this, and if you’re successful like you think you’ll be and we think you’ll be, you’ll add a lot to entertainment in Carbondale, Dillard said.

The council also approved the drafting of an amendment to the city liquor code that will allow microbreweries to sell their packaged product.

Karayiannis said that although Pinch Penny does not plan to sell kegs of their microbrews at this point, keg sales to functions like weddings are part of the business’ long range plan.

Dillard said the amendment would hold microbrew keg sales to the same restrictions now placed on Carbondale liquor stores.

He said he expected the council to approve the ordinance allowing microbreweries to sell their product once it is drafted and voted upon.

The council said not allowing Pinch Penny to sell its beer would be similar to prohibiting Alto Vineyards from selling bottles of their own wine.