32 - Downtown Matters Live at LaSalle Kitchen & Tavern

For anyone, owning a building and business in downtown South Bend over the past twenty-eight years has been anything but easy. How people conjured up the courage to invest in South Bend after watching decade after decade of near-constant decline and demolition is beyond us. Mark McDonnell did it and is the subject of today’s episode. 

A couple days before our end-of-Season 2 party at LaSalle Kitchen and Tavern, Jacob and Dustin sat down for a conversation with the restaurant’s owner, Mark McDonnell, in his 3-story brick building on Colfax – the oldest existing commercial structure and the second oldest building in downtown South Bend.Our conversation explores the history of the building, from its original construction and the many businesses that resided within, to its role today as home to two of the most popular downtown restaurants.