Mayor Walsh and several city councilors on Wednesday supported plans by a group that includes veteran restaurateur Brian O'Donnell and Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey to breathe new life into the Lower Mills Pub.

Representatives from the mayor's office and Councilors Steve Murphy, Ayanna Pressley, Michael Flaherty and Michelle Wu backed the proposal at a hearing of the Boston Licensing Board on Wednesday.

The board has final say over the transfer of liquor licenses. It votes on Thursday on whether to approve the pub's license sale.

O'Donnell plans to install a kitchen instead of just offering the chips and peanuts the pub is currently known for.

O'Donnell's group agreed to buy the license only after the current owners unraveled the legal issues left over when long-time co-owner Nicholas Byrne died without leaving a will.