NEWBURYPORT — Guinness and Irish music will once again return to State Street.

A new Irish pub, Port Tavern, is slated to open at the site of the former Rosie O'Shea's, hopefully in early February, its owners said yesterday.

Phillip Wynne, of Boston, and Dermot Bolger, of Amesbury, both of whom are originally from Ireland, say they are remodeling the restaurant and will open "a modern Irish bar," like something one might find in Dublin.

Wynne, 37, said the tavern will offer a more open floor plan, rather than the bench seating found at Rosie O'Shea's. Darker wood and additional seating will also be a part of Port Tavern, he said.

Bolger, 40, said yesterday that he and his wife moved to Amesbury just over a year ago. When news came that Rosie O'Shea's spot was available, it was the right move, he said.

"It's a beautiful town; it's a historic town," Wynne said.

"We just really liked the area," Bolger said. When determining what type of restaurant to open, Bolger said, residents told him they missed having an Irish pub in the city and the atmosphere they found at Rosie O'Shea's, and they wanted "a better version of what was there previously."

Port Tavern will not compete with the high-end restaurants in the city, Wynne said, but will offer a more family-oriented, midmarket restaurant that serves "pub grub" with live entertainment, such as Irish music or jazz.

Diners can choose from a menu of burgers, shepherd's pie and other "bar comfort food," Wynne said. Lunch will also be served, and possibly a brunch on weekends, he added.

Wynne said the owners are pushing for a Feb. 1 opening, but that depends on getting the liquor license from the state.

With the two owners from Ireland, Bolger said they will bring an "Irish feel" to the restaurant through their personalities. "We're going to be hands-on owners," he said.

With a good percentage of Newburyport's population being of Irish, English or German descent, there is a market and demographic here for an Irish pub, Bolger said. Bolger's brother, Julian Bolger, owns the Joshua Tree in Allston, The Playwright Restaurant and Bar in Boston, and just purchased the Cityside Restaurant and Bar in Brighton.

The building on State Street that once housed Rosie O'Shea's was purchased last month by Christopher Horan, a Newburyport resident and owner of the Boston-based realty firm Symphony Properties. The mill building behind the restaurant will be developed into residential, commercial and retail office space over the next two years, said Mark Miller of the North Shore Restaurant Group. Port Tavern will lease from Horan.