If you’ve walked down Welch Ave. since the beginning of the semester, you may have noticed the barely one-year-old bar that once occupied 124 Welch Ave. is now gone.

The Scene has been replaced by a new bar, one that hopes to bring a whole new crowd to the Ames bar scene and provide an alternative to the same old bars people have frequented all year.

Paddy’s Irish Pub is the bar, and laid back is the atmosphere.

Owner Andy White, former Scene owner who also owns Sips and other establishments including a few in Colorado, didn’t like the direction The Scene was going.

Sips (located downstairs from Paddy’s) and The Scene were too similar and drew the same crowd, always leaving one or the other empty. Unfortunately, last semester, the empty bar was The Scene.

“The idea is to form two different crowds — a new option for bar-goers that’s more for hanging out and not as high energy,” Paddy’s manager Jeremy Rubin said.

The result is a complete facelift for The Scene to help give it a more Irish ambiance and slackened feeling.

To tone down the former dance club environment, the management decided to apply a fresh paint job and newly stained wood.

The center-of-attention dance floor with neon lights and plenty of room for dancing was cleared out, making room for other forms of entertainment.

“We went from two pool tables to four,” Rubin said. “We added a foosball table, a basketball game called Pop-A-Shot, and we have two dart machines.”

Further changes to help create an Irish environment include a variety of Irish tap-beers and other Irish brand items.

“We also added more mirrors and these kind of old-fashioned stained-glass chandeliers over the tables,” Rubin said. “And there is a barrel full of peanuts the people can take for free and throw the shells on the floor, we don’t care.”

Though no dance area is provided, the management brought in a jukebox for people to have their choice of songs. If it’s not playing, the bartenders will control the music so there are always tunes on the loose.

This weekend marks only the second full weekend of Paddy’s’ existence, and drink specials will be offered to all who enter.

Like many of the bar’s peers, Paddy’s will offer a mug night on Wednesdays and a Friday After Class to end out the week, and it is available for parties and other private gatherings.

Hours for the bar are 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. throughout the week, with the exception of FAC.