Corby’s Irish Pub Unveils Phase One of Major Expansion Ahead of Football Season

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—A longtime South Bend staple is entering a brand new chapter. Corby’s Irish Pub has been working on a major expansion since last fall.

ABC57 checked it out Friday before the Grand Opening, just in time for the return of Fighting Irish football and students coming back to campus.

From out front, it may look like the same Corby’s South Bend has known and loved for decades, but a brand-new two-story addition out back marks a big new era for the Irish pub at the corner of LaSalle and Niles.

Before the filming of Rudy made it a local landmark, it was Cap-N-Cork’s. It became Corby’s in the early 1990s and has filled the walls with memorabilia and memories

over the years while outside, the East Bank neighborhood has completely transformed.

Now, owner Joe Mittiga, who took over from his father, is showing off a brand-new second-story private event space and a renovated outdoor patio. He says this project has been 15 years in the making, but new development nearby made this the perfect time to expand along with the area around it.

“All these things just kind of converged,” Mittiga said. “It was the time to take these images I had in my head, get them on paper, and actually build it.”

Corby’s is breaking in the new space Friday Night with a live DJ for the grand opening.

And there’s more to come, Phase Two of the expansion will stretch all the way to the East Race Waterway, with plans for volleyball courts, outdoor bars and seating, and even the original Notre Dame scoreboard.