Hennessey’s Tavern gets better with age
By Laura Garber
by Laura Garber
Frankfurt, Germany pilots Yannick Schneider and Frank Amlong spend their layover at Hennessey’s Tavern.
Jed Mottley and Jack Maher of Feed the Kitty have play at Hennessey’s Tavern for nearly 26 years.
Patrons celebrate 50 years of Hennessey’s Tavern on Pier Plaza. Photos by Laura Garber
Over the past 50 years, what began in 1976 as a modest Irish pub among biker bars and small retailers on Pier Avenue in downtown Hermosa Beach has expanded to become a cultural hub for loyal patrons throughout Southern California.
Last Thursday, September 17, Paul Hennessey’s first Hennessey’s Tavern celebrated its 50th Anniversary.
“I used to always tell people I opened this when I was five years old,” Hennessey joked. “But now I’m thinking that still makes me old.”
The 50-year celebration had performances from South Bay’s Mikey Jerome, Feed the Kitty and Retrofit. Irish dancers from the McNulty School of Irish Dance performed jigs on the patio.
Maggie Read, a customer since the ‘80s, recalled meeting with her friends after work at Hennessey’s Tavern in the Riviera Village.
Paul Hennessey with long-time customer Maggie Read at the 50th anniversary celebration on Thursday. Photo by Laura Garber
“We’re all Irish, so it was always our meeting spot,” Read said. “That was our home away from home.”
Read credits Hennessey with making his taverns feel like home.
Hennessey’s Taverns has 10 locations including pubs in San Diego, Laguna Beach and Las Vegas.
“The concept is a fun, friendly atmosphere,” Dave Ramirez said of his 35 years working at Hennessey’s, first as a doorman, and now as a bartender. “I always tell people, when you come to Hennessey’s, you’re walking into your living room.”
“I’ve got employees now whose parents used to work for me. Each town we go into, we try to reflect the flavor of the town, Manhattan’s different than Redondo, which is different from Hermosa.”
Hennessey says keeping operations simple is what brings people back.
“It’s not a trendy, gimmicky, flash in the pan thing. I always wanted a place that would get better with tradition” Hennessey said. “Irish pubs have been around for forever and people know what they’re getting when they go into an Irish pub.”
One tradition Hennessey no longer practices included placing an ad in papers offering a boneless chicken dinner for 25 cent and a 25 cent glass of beer on April Fools Day. Customers found themselves at a table with a hard boiled egg and a shot glass full of beer.
The joke ran dry when Hennessey saw an older man get out of a cab, he traveled from afar for the deal and was disappointed with the meal.
“Oh no, the beer’s on me, if you want a sandwich here is the menu,” Hennessey told the man.
But what makes Hennessey’s Tavern a success, Hennnessy said, comes down to the family.
“I got the best employees in the world. I get the best managers, people like Dave, they’ve been with me forever. Down to the dishwashers. They’re the ones who make it successful,” Hennessey said. “This is our first 50 years.” ER
Read this story on easyreadernews.com