Flashbacks: A wedding at McSorley's Old Ale House!

Photos courtesy of Jason Sheehy 

This past weekend, McSorley's celebrated 170 years at 15 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square. 

Here's but a piece of the bar's history, which EVG reader Jason Sheehy shared from late last summer. (You may recognize Jason as a proud owner of one of the Gem Spa signs.) 

For starters, McSorley's is the favorite bar in the city for Jason and his girlfriend Regina. 

"The communal tables bring everyone together, and we have met some of our best friends sitting at those tables," he said. 

So when it came time for the wedding, they figured why not hold it in their favorite place. 

The ceremony took place at 10 a.m. before the bar opened for the day this past Aug. 31. There were light and dark mugs of McSorley's and bagels from Tompkins Square Bagels for the 70-plus people from around the country in attendance...

Gregory de la Haba, the co-owner and operator of McSorley's, said the bar has hosted weddings in the past but very rarely. 

"We've had a few of our family and close friends (regulars) get married inside. But only once in a blue moon will we allow [someone] to marry inside ... they must be true regulars — for years — like Jason and Regina," he said, adding with a laugh: Otherwise, we'd be officiating weddings at McSorley's every day."

Said Jason, in the Yankees cap in the photos: "This bar is rich in history, and we are more than excited to be just a tiny part of that."

Friday's parting anniversary shot

McSorley's Old Ale House is celebrating its 170th anniversary this weekend at 15 E. Seventh St. just east of Cooper Square. 

There's live music today through Sunday... with cake from newbie Veniero's on 11th Street, which is only 130 years old.

Per the McSorley's Instagram account: "We look forward to seeing all of you. Stay well and 'Be Good.'"

Photo via @NYCGO

Friday's parting Fleet Week shot

Thanks to EVG reader Jason T. Sheehy for this Fleet Week moment from this evening at McSorley's on Seventh Street...

McSorley's 'bringing all the energy back inside'

Photos by Steven

The COVID curbside-dining era in McSorley's long history has ended. 

Yesterday, workers removed the outdoor structures at the 169-year-old NYC institution, 15 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. 

"They served their purpose. Now, back to normal and to bringing all the energy back inside the Old Ale House where it belongs and existed peacefully for ages," Gregory de la Haba, the co-owner and operator of McSorley's, told us via an Instagram message. "We're grateful to all our neighbors who tolerated the outdoor seating during COVID's mandates and restrictions." 

The saloon had two equal-sized structures where patrons could sit and drink mugs of light and dark ale or order a burger and fries or the cheese and raw onion plate.

Friday's opening shot (so to speak)

Photo by Steven 

A look-in at McSorley's on Seventh Street around 8 a.m. on this St. Patrick's Day... we were told that some folks started lining up at 6 a.m.

Today in corned beef hash news

The corned beef hash is back on the menu at McSorley's, 15 E. Seventh St., for the first time since March 16, 2020. 

Photo and hashtag by @plannedalism

Reopening day at McSorley's

McSorley's reopened yesterday for take-home service here at 7 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by and, with permission, took a few quick photos inside ... where owner Teresa Maher de la Haba was busy filling growlers for people to take home...



...and the interior of the saloon remains the same after the longest closure in its 166-year history ...





Patrons aren't permitted inside... you can put in your take-home order at the door ...

McSorley's reopens today on 7th Street, and this is what you can expect

McSorley's Old Ale House opens its doors today after more than a two-month-plus closure during the COVID-19 crisis.

Longtime bartender Gregory de la Haba, whose wife, Teresa Maher de la Haba, is the owner, gave us a rundown on what you'll find at the saloon on Seventh Street near Cooper Square.

"We’ll keep a limited menu of burgers, sandwiches and hot dogs," he said of their to-go items. "And we’ll implement all the necessary precautions like wearing face masks, and we've already installed four hand sanitizers with one at the entrance. Doesn’t quite go with the decor of the aged and charred wood but for now who gives a shit. Safety first."

Food aside, they'll also be selling growlers to go. And you can expect to see some familiar faces when picking up food or beer to take home. "We kept all our staff, and everyone wants to get back to work."

This is also the longest the circa-1854 McSorley's has ever been dark.

"Billy McSorley closed the bar for one full week when his father John died in 1910. Hurricane Sandy closed our bar for five days," de la Haba said. "But we had no closures during the Spanish Flu, the Civil War — or the riots due to [the War] — or any other war or outbreak. But this is also the first government mandated closing."

For now, McSorley's will be serving daily from 1 to 8 p.m. for at least the next two weeks while they see what the city does with a reopening plan.

"The uncertainty into the unknown is what’s driving most business owners mad," he said. "And the 25 or 50 percent occupancy will be the nail in the coffin for most — especially if it lasts more than one month."

These East Village institutions are now currently closed

After a to-go sandwich service on St. Patrick's Day, McSorley's is now closed over at 15 E. Seventh St. for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak ...



Meanwhile, Veselka, 144 Second Ave. at Ninth Street, decided to shut down operations starting yesterday. Here's part of their Instagram post:

Veselka has closed indefinitely. That was not a fun decision to make, but it was an easy one. The safety of our staff and customers comes first.

Rest assured that we’ll be back! We may be suspending operations before some other places, but we’ll start boiling the borscht as soon as the scientists and regulators give us the all-clear.

And B&H, 127 Second Ave., is also closed now. Tuesday was their last day, in which they were giving out some menu items.

Their future seems less clear, and there is now a crowdfunding campaign in place to help them in the interim.

St. Patrick's Day at McSorley's

McSorley's over on Seventh Street is always — obviously — quite festive on St. Patrick's Day... today, they are open to sell a variety of sandwiches to go... growlers too...





Thanks to Steven for the photos!

RIP Matthew Maher, longtime owner of McSorley's

[Matthew Maher in 2016 by Steven]

Matthew "Matty" Maher, who started as a bartender at McSorley's in 1964 and later became owner of the East Village institution on Seventh Street, died on Saturday after a short illness. He was 80.

News of his passing was reported first in his native County Kilkenny in Ireland. Per the Kilkenny People:

He had a welcome for every person from Ireland and made life easier for many people who came to the U.S. to start a new life or to earn enough to set out on their own.

It is true that when the last owner of McSorley's before Matty, Harry Kirwan from Lisdowney came home on holiday to Ireland in 1964, his car broke down and that he was picked up on the road by Mattie.

Harry promised him a job in New York. Mattie went stateside to work as a waiter and bartender at McSorley’s. In 1977, Matty bought the premises from Harry Kirwan's son.

[Photo at McSorley's yesterday by Steven]

As for the bar's ownership since opening in 1854, we turn to McSorley's historian Bill Wander, who told this to 6sqft in 2015:

Depending on how you count, there have been seven owners of McSorley’s – John, his son Bill, then Dan O’Connell who bought the place. Daniel’s daughter Dorothy inherited McSorley’s at his death. Dot’s husband Harry managed the place and was the owner for the briefest time, a few months after his wife’s passing away. Some people don’t count Harry, as the estate was still in court when he died. Their son Danny owned it then, but decided to sell it to the current owner Matthew Maher, a trusted employee since the early 1960s. But in 161 years, that ownership covers only three families.

Maher is survived by his wife Tess and daughters, Ann Marie, Teresa, Kathy, Adrienne and Maeve.

In 1994, Maher’s daughter, Teresa Maher de la Haba, became the first woman to work behind the bar. She is now the owner, and will keep McSorley's as is moving forward along with her husband, bartender (and artist) Gregory de la Haba.

As previously reported, founder John McSorley owned the building at 15 East Seventh St. near Cooper Square. Since then, every time the bar changed hands, the building went with it.

"McSorley’s will be in good hands with Teresa and her husband Gregory," said former bartender Michael Quinn, whose Feltman hot dogs are sold at the bar.


[Teresa Maher de la Haba with Mike the bartender from 2016]

March 17, 8:30 a.m., 15 E. 7th St.

As you may have noticed, today is St. Patrick's Day. As of 8:30 a.m., there wasn't a line [yet] for McSorley's over on Seventh Street. Everyone is at mass?



McSorley's opens at 11.

An anniversary for McSorley's

McSorley's is celebrating their 165th anniversary this weekend (officially Feb. 17) over at 15 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square.

The bar opened in 1854 with the tagline Drunk - Drunk - Sawdust - Drunk, as local historian Pinhead once noted. (This old EVG post has a few other fake comments about McSorley's opening.)

Photo via @NYCGO

A mosaic to cure what ales you

[Photo by Steven from July 16]

A few weeks back, Steven ran into Jim Power, who was prepping a new mosaic in honor of McSorley's Old Ale House.

The mosaic is now in place on St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue ... looking ready for a full reveal...

March 17 and McSorley's

[Click on image to go big]

EVG reader Allen Semanco shared the above photo... showing the 7 a.m. St. Patrick's Day (Happy St. Patrick's Day BTW!) line for McSorley's Old Ale House on Seventh Street... (I think they opened today at 8?????)

Meanwhile!

Gregory and Teresa from McSorley's commissioned East Village-based Billy the Artist to create a poster for St. Patrick's Day...



And here's Billy at this favorite bar (McSorley's, if that wasn't clear)...


[Image via Facebook]

Find out more about the poster here.

McSorley's turns 164

[Bill, who has been going to McSorley's since 1964]

McSorley's celebrated its 164th birthday yesterday over at its home (of 164 years!) at 15 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square. EVG regular Dan Efram shared these photos.

Part of the festivities included, as always, the presence of the musket-toting McSorley's militia...









P.S.

Because someone always brings this up...Per New York magazine several years ago: "Though McSorley’s claims it opened its doors in 1854, NYC historian Richard McDermott used public records to prove it really opened in 1862."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Happy No. 162 McSorley's!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from McSorley's

[Photo by Jimmy Carbone]

The line started forming around 7 a.m. for the 8 a.m. opening bell today at McSorley's ...

EVG line correspondent Steven shared these photos... perhaps the colder-than-usual temps for March 17 kept the line a little shorter than in previous years here on Seventh Street...





...and at 8 a.m. ...



The bar quickly filled up...

Musket love at McSorley's

Members of the McSorley's militia were out in full force outside the bar today on Seventh Street as it celebrated its 163 anniversary...



Photos by Derek Berg

Happy No. 163 McSorley's!

[Arthur King via McSorley's]

McSorley's is officially celebrating its 163rd birthday today over at its home of, uh, 163 years — 15 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square. Expect a visit by Lincoln and some shots (so to speak) by the musket-toting McSorley's militia.

Related!

Quiet Lunch Magazine has created the "163rd McSorley’s Old Ale House 2017 Calendar" featuring never-before-published photos of the bar (like the one above) by designer Arthur King in the 1950s when he was studying at Pratt. The calendar is $12. More details here.



Meanwhile!

Whenever mentioning McSorley's and anniversaries... Someone brings this up. Per New York: "Though McSorley’s claims it opened its doors in 1854, NYC historian Richard McDermott used public records to prove it really opened in 1862."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Happy No. 162 McSorley's!

McSorley's back on the A list

As we first noted on Nov. 10, the Department of Health temporarily closed McSorley's on Seventh Street near Cooper Square after an inspection "revealed several critical health hazards, including evidence of rat activity, food held at the wrong temperature, and conditions conducive to vermin and pest activity."

The bar passed a follow-up inspection and reopened on Nov. 14.

On Monday, the bar received its new health inspection grade – an A...



"I think it should be A-plus-plus," bartender Teresa Maher de la Haba told the Daily News.

According to DOH inspection reports, the bar has had A grades from the DOH in previous years. Owner Matthew Maher blamed the Cooper Square reconstruction for the presence of the rats after work was done in the building's basement, per DNAinfo.