Replacing the Kildare House
I’ve noticed that my happiness quotient has been down lately.
It’s been hard to place, the reason for this dip. Nothing really has changed in my life. The kids are growing into pretty fantastic young adults. I’m still in an awesome relationship with a woman who makes me laugh - constantly. Sure - work sucks, but that hasn’t changed in 16 years.
So what then could it be? I was reading an article (wish I could find it and link to it for you) on the importance of a “third place” in a persons life when it dawned on me - I haven’t been the same since the Kildare House closed!
When I say the “Kildare House”, I mean the Kildare House. Not “O’Maggio’s Kildare House” (no offence intended to Vito Maggio who has been steadily investing in the ‘hood) but the old, sometime stinky, frequently gritty, always homey version. From Mongo to Kit, Mary to Cindy, the frequent ”spontaneous” (which is what I thought for the longest time) gathering of celtic musicians and even that dink Clinton Hammond(!) - this place was MY third place. The vibe has changed.
It still looks the same. Still has those awesome booths with the cool flip-out stools on the end. Still has bar towels on the wall (probably not the same ones, though. Those could have walked out on their own) and football on the telly. This place smells clean and the wait staff wear uniforms. The new patrons wear perfume when they visit and eat their meals off those fancy square plates! I had bangers and mash when I visited and it was obvious the chef(!) placed a high regard to its presentation!
It’s like a restaurant now, and I miss the pub.
Yeah. I miss Heath and the gang, but have accepted the fact that they have gone on to the next phase in their lives and are not coming back to the neighborhood pub.
It’s funny how much the lack of a good third place has bored a hole in my happiness quotient. So, I am going to step up to the plate and find me a new one! It’s going to take some rigorous research, visiting each contender at different times of the day to gage their vibes. Plenty of pints will need to be hoisted to ensure a consistency of pour. It’ll be tough, but I think I’m up to the task.
I’m going to need some criteria to judge them impartially. Quality of the barside conversation, diverse demographic of clientele, feeling of inclusion, etc.
Any suggestions from my fellow Walkervillians? Where do you hang now that the pub is closed? Whata kind of criteria did you use to make your new third place, well - your new third place?
Honestly, I want to know! This is serious stuff!
Post Feedback
What you wrote reminds me of how I used to like Plunketts, but then it just wasn’t the same anymore.
Rest of message deleted due to conflict of interest by Mark a d the fact that we’re not restaurant critics.
I love Kildare improvements. Food was good. Guy who served me was former beach grove bartender who was a consummate professional as good as they come
Why I really don’t like this post. Local businessmen invests, cleans up place and he’s faulted cause it now appeals to more diverse crowd? Isn’t that a sorta reverse elitism.
If anything, if there’s something to what u say, Theres an opportunity for a cheap startup to fulfill demand u believe exists. Whatsvwron with Vic btw?
Aww, come on Mark. You can normally read me better! This post was not at all about the new O’Maggio’s. It was about the loss of my hangout. I even mentioned that in the post, ’cause I knew someone would misinterpret what I was driving at. I suppose O’Maggio’s fits the bill for many folks, but the place has changed from a neighborhood hangout to a restaurant in the neighborhood. I would argue with your statement about it drawing a more diverse crowd, though. If anything the opposite is true. Pulling a pint at the bar of the old Kildare House, you were likely to be sitting between a doctor and a construction worker. I don’t see that kind of diversity at O’Maggio’s.
Hey, Chris, long day and oversensitivity bias towards restauranteurs that fix up bldgs
Also there was a comment following ur post that was critical so I wasn’t the only one misinterpreting your intent
Sorry for the overreaction. Kudo’s to Mr. Maggio for thee renovations that without, could have eventually led to the bldgs demise
Also, the real issue is gentrification of walkerville
I agree on both sides. I miss Heath and Ted and the general silliness that occured at the Kildare… I miss curry gravy and my pint of cider and black for sure. But I love how the renos went and it’s a nice place to take my little girl.
If you are looking for a proper pub, you might not find it. The Kildare was the closest thing there was after the Butcher & Banker in Tecumseh (now closed).
I enjoy sitting at Taloola but would like to have wireless.
I agree 100% with everything you’ve said here, Chris. The new Kildare is great: the food is delicious, the service is top-notch, and the place is nice and clean (and free of fruit flies, and overflowing ashtrays)… BUT… it’s not the same. It’s not supposed to be the same. A loss for those of us who loved the old Kildare, but a gain for all of their new clientele.
The Vic is a good substitute. Same atmosphere, same varied clientele, and a killer outdoor area (it’s too big to be considered a patio)! But it’s no Kildare.
I’m wondering what Kilroy’z is about, actually…
Kilroy’z on Kildare seems have have sporadic hours. In spite of it being only a few blocks away, I’ve yet to try it out. Nor have I ever met anyone who has stepped inside. I suspect it has long served the workers at GM Transmission, and wonder what its future will be now. Perhaps it would be a good location for our next blogger GT?
O’Whateverit’scalled O’s won’t be seeing any of my money… I don’t like waiting more than half an hour for service when the staff outnumber the customers.
It’s not a pub… Nobody can give me a good reason why there’s the English, Scottish, Welsh and MEXICAN flags on the ceiling upstairs… (Apparently he THINKS it’s the Irish flag)
I NEVER need to be met in the doorway upstairs by some “friend” of the owner demanding to know “What are you doing up here?” as if he had no clue that the bathrooms are upstairs, or that as a customer, I MIGHT even just be soaking in the changes (I won’t say improvements, cause not all the changes are… The bathrooms are great, but the uniforms on the waitresses make them look like skanks… And where’s the plaque of the names of the regulars who had ‘passed on’??? )
It’s not “The Kildare House”… Don’t call it that please… It’s insulting to the memory of the place. The Kildare House was a place where someone was welcome to bring their dog up onto the patio while they enjoyed an evening pint…
I can’t say anything about the food cause I’ve never got service in a timely enough manner to order food. I’m told by most people it’s way more miss than hit.
Where do I go these days? rehearsal… or production meetings… or gigs that aren’t in bars… I don’t have TIME to miss a good pub… But I’ll happily share any good leads I find!
Been meaning to stick my head in to the Travellers on Pillette… It’s barely a 5 Min walk from home!
As for O’maggio’s Yuppie Cartoon Bar, well… If I get my way, it’ll fail and someone will come along and turn it back into a decent pub.
Wow…. this fascinates me…..
Your posts represents exactly what I’m trying to say. Not meaning to offend but it sounds like some sort of reverse elitism. Don’t know what to call it. I think the problem is that the renovations to the Kildare house seem to be viewed as a gentrification problem.
However there is an additional problem of an italian owning an pub not of his background. Again I have a huge bias being a Canadian of Italian descent owner of restaurants with my own interpretation of asian food, sushi and U.S. southern BBQ
I woulda never known about the flag but it reminds me how careful I have to be on atmosphere. We’re bad as well as we have non matching asian elements. (Have story for another day about meeting leaders of the Buddhist temples about respecting their, for lack of a better word, religion)
BTW, enjoyed briefly listening to you at the market yesterday, woulda loved to stay for the whole set
What can I say? I didn’t call him “The Dink” for nuthin’!
Apparantly the new owner did 6 figures of renovations that were basically structural in nature, worrying me more that the building may have fell into disrepair and possibly ordered demolished
I just think that he made a new place under the old name and if there’s a demand for the old place that’s one more opportunity for a someone wanting to start a local independent businesses
I was wondering when we were going to hear from you, especially after the “dink” comment! While this post was never meant to be a critique of O’Maggio’s, I do understand what it’s like to have your pub morph into something completely different. I miss it too.
Travellers? Never heard of it. I think some of us are going to check out Kilroyz before it closes due to their lack of GM clientelle/
Great idea! What ya up to today? I’m thirsty!
P.S. I think it’s out of business / closed already!
Wha? Seriously? Maybe this is the opportunity Mark has been mentioning. Too bad it’s in such a crappy location…
Kilroyz - definitely still open, though I wonder for how much longer. I didn’t eat there, but everyone else did. The food looked horrible, but I’ll leave it to the others for a critique. A Heineken was $5, and OV on tap for $2.50. The place normally closes at 7, but stayed open for us. Waitress was cheery enough. Way behind the Vic as far as new neghborhood hangout goes.
I don’t think being Italian owning a Celtic-themed bar should be a problem in this instance, Mark, because the Kildare was already “configured”. All he had to do was fix what was broken (like the A/C) and don’t fix what ain’t broke. The Kildare didn’t need to be reinvented. It just needed capital to get it out of a slump. I’m surprised the owner didn’t seek out some of the original staff who made this place what it was and hire/consult with them on the Kildare’s renewal.
I can relate to what Clinton the Dink (LOL) said about dogs - I’ll remember Kit the gentleman pouring ice water into my dog’s upside down frisbee while I enjoying a corned beef sandwich and a few pints on the old patio long after I’ve forgotten any of my more recent trips there.
In defense of the new owner though - and with all due respect to the original owners of the Kildare, it was under their watch, not Maggio’s, that the Kildare went knockers up. If it wasn’t for Maggio, as someone else pointed out, the Kildare house would still be vacant to this day, or turned into a 2for1 Pizza or something like that. So we at least have a viable business in “Olde” Walkerville even if it’s a faint shadow of the former many of us fondly remember.
As far as I’m concern, it has become a destination, not a place. Kudos though for saving an empty building from demolition and becoming a parking lot.
The Phog has become my new local and maybe the Mill for the Irish session on Monday night.
“However there is an additional problem of an italian owning an pub not of his background.”
Moot… The Kildare House was made into a pub by a big ugly Hungarian… He also made The Sandwich Mill THE best place to be in its time. Where ones grandparents are from matters not a tinkers cuss…
“woulda loved to stay for the whole set”
(And I’m gonna ask you to toss WAY less into my case than they ask for in the collection plate)
It’s like penance, and it means you don’t have to go to church all month, listening to me for an hour!
“I didn’t call him “The Dink” for nuthin’!”
(You and I had a date to get some pints in, months ago… We need to make that happen sometime soonish… )
Mostly out of jealousy… and it’s o.k… everybody understands why
“If it wasn’t for Maggio, as someone else pointed out, the Kildare house would still be vacant to this day”
Don’t tease me! If only….
“maybe the Mill for the Irish session on Monday night.”
Open Mic at The Manchester is better. ,-) (Except for that dink who starts off the night… he’s a… well… dink! )
“(You and I had a date to get some pints in, months ago… We need to make that happen sometime soonish… )”
Well, if you weren’t such a dink…
The new Kildare House - an Irish pub for God’s sake - has a giant Union Jack painted on the ceiling. I walked out upon seeing that. What an idiot. That would be like painting a huge swastika in a Jewish community hall because, hey, that’s part of Jewish history and heritage, right?
I’m currently trying to find a retired IRA grunt to blow the place to effing bits. What an absolute disgrace.
I miss the old Kildare. I don’t need another ‘cleaned up’, faux, so-called pub. Oh, and Chris, keep me posted on your search mate.