About Paul Leongas
From The Curragh to Axis Development Group — Park Ridge, Illinois
Paul Leongas
Park Ridge, Illinois
I got my start in the restaurant business, not in real estate. After I finished at Michigan State University, my sisters Sophia and Lydia and I bought The Curragh Traditional Irish Pub in Schaumburg, and from there we opened locations in Edison Park and Skokie. We poured everything into those places. In 2002 The Curragh earned the Guinness Gold Standard Award for the Perfect Pint, and Whisky Magazine named it one of the great whisky bars in the world. My family still runs Holland Pub LLC up in Holland, Michigan.
Running a pub teaches you how a space works: how people move through it, what makes them stay, where the money goes, and how much of the result rides on details most guests never notice. When I moved into commercial development and started Axis Development Group, I carried all of that with me. Now I acquire, reposition, and build commercial properties across Chicago’s North Shore, and I self-perform the construction so I can stand behind the cost and the quality myself.
I grew up in Park Ridge, came up through Maine South High School, and still pull for the Hawks. This blog is where I write about building things, running them, and what the two have in common.
The Pub Years
The Curragh earned the Guinness Gold Standard Award for the Perfect Pint in 2002 and was recognized by Whisky Magazine as one of the world’s great whisky bars. Three Chicago-area locations — Schaumburg, Edison Park, and Skokie — each taught a different lesson about how a space serves its community.
The Development Work
Axis Development Group LLC acquires, repositions, and builds commercial properties across Chicago’s North Shore. The construction is self-performed — no general contractor markup, direct control over schedule and quality. The same instincts that made a pub run well apply to every commercial build.
Park Ridge Roots
Grew up in Park Ridge, attended Maine South High School, and still lives and works in the northwest Chicago area. The community awareness that comes from being a local informs how Paul reads a block and evaluates a commercial site.