Hal Brody was not interested in leasing to another version of Westport Ale House.
He wanted a quieter tenant — a brunch joint, maybe, or a Mexican restaurant — at 4128 Broadway Blvd., the Westport building he’s owned for decades. Ale House had been a headache in its later years. Opened in 2014 as an upscale sports bar, it had gradually morphed into a late-night club with a reputation for trouble: fights, shootings, vandalism.
The bar closed in April 2024 , and by October, Brody thought he might have found a suitable replacement in Chris Lee. The president of a local trucking company, Lee had flown to California, where Brody lives, and pitched him on a sports bar concept that emphasized food service and catered to an older crowd not interested in sticking around much past midnight. The business would draw inspiration from high-minded local establishments like The Monarch Bar and Ocean Prime. Lee would call it Euphoric Bar and Lounge…