Let’s Go to Blarney’s
Jul 26, 2022 05:51PM ● By Gary Fyke
How many of you reading this paper can say they have eaten at Blarney Castle or picked up a pizza there, or just had a great experience at that long-time Chillicothe area eatery? I sure can. The owner and operator during these times was William B. Fleming, absolute die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. We all came to know his sons, Jay and Bill “Bongo” Fleming, who took over the restaurant when their father retired. Sadly, the business has closed and for a brief time the restaurant called “Sliders” moved into the building.
William B. Fleming we all knew didn’t start “Blarney Castle.” It was his father, William Gallagher Fleming who bought the business from its founder Anna Cook in 1943. Anna wore a cowbell around her neck while working in her tavern and was lovingly called “Cow Bell Annie.” She had begun the business on Front Street in Rome, two blocks east of old Route 29 in 1933, following the repeal of Prohibition. She and her husband John had previously owned a restaurant in Peoria. She moved from Front Street to the Rte. 29 location in 1935.
When William G. Fleming bought Blarney Castle from Anna Cook, he was already an experienced businessman. He began his career in business as an automobile mechanic in Peoria, just as the new-fangled automobiles began to replace horses in Peoria. He owned an auto dealership for several years and was the first person to provide motorized taxi service in Peoria.
In 1941 Fleming bought the Crawl Inn Hotel/tavern in Mossville, that is now “The Rail Splitter.” John Crawl bought the Mossville stagecoach stop on the Old Galena Trail and Coach Road in 1904 and named it the Crawl House. Fleming sold the Mossville property to another Peorian in 1943 when he bought Blarney Castle. William G. Fleming died in 1952 and the business passed to William B. Fleming and then his grandsons before closing for good December 9, 2015.
William B. Fleming we all knew didn’t start “Blarney Castle.” It was his father, William Gallagher Fleming who bought the business from its founder Anna Cook in 1943. Anna wore a cowbell around her neck while working in her tavern and was lovingly called “Cow Bell Annie.” She had begun the business on Front Street in Rome, two blocks east of old Route 29 in 1933, following the repeal of Prohibition. She and her husband John had previously owned a restaurant in Peoria. She moved from Front Street to the Rte. 29 location in 1935.
When William G. Fleming bought Blarney Castle from Anna Cook, he was already an experienced businessman. He began his career in business as an automobile mechanic in Peoria, just as the new-fangled automobiles began to replace horses in Peoria. He owned an auto dealership for several years and was the first person to provide motorized taxi service in Peoria.
In 1941 Fleming bought the Crawl Inn Hotel/tavern in Mossville, that is now “The Rail Splitter.” John Crawl bought the Mossville stagecoach stop on the Old Galena Trail and Coach Road in 1904 and named it the Crawl House. Fleming sold the Mossville property to another Peorian in 1943 when he bought Blarney Castle. William G. Fleming died in 1952 and the business passed to William B. Fleming and then his grandsons before closing for good December 9, 2015.