The Pub is a smoke-free establishment
114 N. Main Street Oconomowoc, WI 262-567-8850 Contact Us
Open Monday – Saturday 4pm 'til closing food served 'til 9:00
By Rebecca Seymour
Since opening The Pub in Oconomowoc 10 years ago this October, Aelred Gannon and his wife, Bernie, figure they have served 520,000 properly poured pints of Guinness.
The Irish bar and restaurant has become somewhat of an Oconomowoc icon - a place where in the Irish tradition, one hundred thousand welcomes are served up with an abundance of great food, drink, music and conversation.
FOREVER LOVE: Aelred Gannon and his wife, Bernie, grew up in Sligo, Ireland, and when they met at 18, it was love at first sight. The couple is pictured here in one of the Pub's four "snugs," the Irish term for a quiet alcove, all of which depict a piece of Sligo history.
The Gannons credit The Pub’s success to an unwavering commitment to working hard at something they love, as well as the support from friends, family and the community around them.
“We are so grateful for the people who patronize us. If they weren’t coming through our door, we wouldn’t be here,” says Aelred. “We treat everyone as if they were guests in our own home. We make the effort to know their name and a little something about them and they become our friends.”
Bernie chimes in with a story about patrons who came into The Pub late one night last January, just as the restaurant was closing. “It was a terrible, snowy night and these gentlemen came in and we cooked them up a meal. They were so grateful. They just came back this summer and were so surprised that we recognized them,” she says, smiling.
Aelred and Bernie grew up two streets apart in Sligo, along the northwest coast of Ireland. Bernie’s father was Sligo’s undertaker and local alderman and Aelred’s parents owned Gannon's Fish Store, which sold fresh fish and poultry.
NATIVE LAND: The Pub is adorned with mementos and trinkets from Ireland, including this tribute to Sligo and this portrait of Lady Lavery, a painter whose likeness appeared on Irish currency for much of the 20th century.
Aelred's great-grandfather established McLynn's Pub in Sligo in 1890, a popular local watering hole and music venue to this day. Aelred’s first job at the tender age of 12 was as a barback at the local pub and then at 18 he started bartending at his cousin’s pub in Dublin. “I guess it runs in my family. There must be some sort of craziness there,” adds Aelred, laughing.
Even the couple’s first meeting can be attributed to a restaurant. “We met in an Italian café in Sligo when we were 18. We were with our friends and poking fun across the room at each other and eventually I got the courage to ask Bernie out. It was love at first sight and we were married five years later,” reminisces Aelred.
A year before they were married, Aelred and Bernie traveled to America to visit Bernie’s sisters. “We saw Chicago, Boston and New York and we loved it. As soon as we were married we applied for US visas. Eight years later we finally received our green cards and we moved to the US. We were looking for that great American dream,” says Bernie.
In 1989 the Gannon’s moved first to Wauwatosa and then to Boston where Aelred eventually landed a job as catering and banquets manager at a golf course and Bernie was a stay at home mom for their children, Claire and Brian.
Bernie’s sister opened Celtic Antiques & Gifts in Delafield in 1993 and asked Aelred to come to Wisconsin to help get the store organized. It was a trip that would change the course of the Gannon’s lives forever.
“I was introduced to Bob Lang who was getting ready to open the Carpenters Pub in Delafield and he asked me to be the manager. It was great. It was a magical time for Delafield and there was so much positive energy. It was the most fun I have ever had,” says Aelred.
For eight years Aelred managed the popular Delafield establishment while Bernie hosted and waited tables. In 2001, something was brewing on the horizon, ten miles away in Oconomowoc. The Gannon’s own pub was calling for them.
Walking into The Pub restaurant guests are immediately transported to a place and even a time far away from the every day bustle left behind on Main St. Above the front door is a sign that reads “Céad Mile Fáilte,” a traditional Irish greeting that means “One hundred thousand welcomes.”
Each visit to the bar and restaurant promises something new to discover with every nook and cranny of the bar and dining room adorned with the art, musical instruments, old photos, trinkets and treasures of the Gannon’s cherished homeland.
IRISH TRADITION IN LAKE COUNTRY: Aelred and Bernie figure they have served 520,000 pints of Guinness since opening The Pub ten years ago.
The building where The Pub is located is 120-years-old, making it one of Oconomowoc’s oldest business structures. It was once a drug store, as well as a meeting place for the Oconomowoc Freemasons during the 1800’s.
For 20 years before the Gannon’s transformed the space into The Pub, the building had been home to The Seasons Italian restaurant.
“The restaurant had been closed for six years when I first walked through it. When I came in through the back door it was creepy and dark, but it had a unique feel to it. There were no windows and the floors were covered in red carpet. I loved it,” remembers Aelred.
The Gannon’s had their work cut out for them. Enlisting the help of family and friends, they worked tirelessly between July and when they opened their doors to the public on October 23, 2001. “We just opened the bar because the dining room wasn’t ready. It was a panic opening because we needed the money!” says Aelred, smiling and shaking his head at the memory.
“We had 120 people – former customers and all the friends who helped us. It was good fun,” adds Bernie. “In Ireland everyone has their own local pub and when you say ‘I’m going to the pub,’ everyone knows where you’re going. That’s what we wanted our restaurant to be. A friendly, comfortable place to come and meet people and have a good meal. Somewhere where you can strike up a conversation with anyone.”
The Pub’s menu is a blend of traditional Irish dishes handed down from Aelred’s and Bernie’s families, as well as contemporary and vegetarian cuisine. As much as possible, the Gannon’s utilize locally raised meats, handcrafted artisan cheeses from Ireland and Wisconsin and fresh produce procured from Oconomowoc’s farmer’s market.
“During the summer most of our vegetables come from the farmer’s market. We used to drive to Madison each week for their market, but Oconomowoc’s has gotten so wonderful we go there instead now. We started offering our roasted beet salad because of all the beautiful beets at the market. There’s nothing like it,” says Aelred.
CORRECTION: Make that 520,001 pints of Guinness!
From Molly Malone’s cockles and mussels, Irish smoked salmon, shepherd’s pie and Irish lamb stew to ahi tuna, steaks and specialty pizzas, as well as properly poured pints and a selection of wines from around the globe – there is something to tantalize every palette.
“And don’t forget about our fish fry,” says Aelred, laughing. “Our shepherds pie and our fish fry are always our biggest sellers. It’s Wisconsin, after all.”
With each meal served, patrons are started off with a plate heaped with thick slices of freshly baked Irish soda and brown breads made from old family recipes with flour imported from Ireland. In the last ten years, the Gannon’s have sliced and served 11,000 loaves of brown bread.
“We have attempted to create a little bit of Ireland here in Oconomowoc with a particular reflection on our family background and heritage in Sligo,” says Aelred. “Our focus is just to make people feel welcome. It’s an Irish thing. During the last ten years we have met so many wonderful people and most of our friends are people we met at The Pub. It’s great to be a part of the Oconomowoc community.”
The Pub is located at 114 North Main St. in downtown Oconomowoc, one half-block north of the intersection of Main St. and Wisconsin Ave., and one half-block south of City Beach on Lac La Belle. For more information, visit www.aelredspub.com or call (262) 567-8850.
By DENNIS R. GETTO
It was that first spoonful of clam chowder at The Pub in Oconomowoc that told me I'd like the place.
It was a Friday night, when The Pub - like hundreds of other places across southeastern Wisconsin - offers a fish fry and clam chowder. But this chowder wasn't like the flour-thickened, overly thymed stuff that is often so thick you could stand a spoon in it.
This was a silky, sweet soup made with real cream, lots of clams, potatoes, carrots and celery and laced with bits of bacon. As I chased the last few drops of it around the bottom of my tilted bowl, I secretly wished that every cook and chef who makes mediocre clam chowder could taste this soup just once and learn from it.
That chowder - and the fresh soft Irish soda bread served beside it - were only two of several delights I discovered at The Pub, a small island of Irish culture sided by storefronts on Oconomowoc's Main St.
Opened in October 2001 by the husband-and-wife team of Aelred and Bernadette Gannon, The Pub charms its customers from the moment they set foot inside. The restaurant (formerly called Seasons) has been redecorated with prominent emphasis on green, white and orange - the three colors of the Irish flag. Along the upper-level north wall is an almost-life-size re-creation of an Irish street, complete with a view of the front room of Gerry Foley's Funeral Home (Foley is Bernadette's maiden same) and Gannon's Fish Market.
Beneath those small storefronts are four small semi-private dining areas: Three have tables for four; the fourth has a table for two.
A friend and I tried that spot for two at one dinner but found it a little cramped. It was a weeknight and we'd arrived early, so our waitress had no objection to our moving to a larger table in the main dining area.
The Pub's menu offers everything from pizzas to stew, with sandwiches and appetizers thrown in. That list is augmented by a separate sheet of nightly specials. Just as elaborate is its drink menu, which lists a surprisingly large assortment of whiskeys, rums, tequilas, martinis and even poteen - the Irish legal equivalent of our own American moonshine.
It's that touch, along with some other subtleties, that make the food at The Pub so quintessentially Irish. Irish dairy products - notably cream and cheese - show up in a number of dishes. The house grilled New York Strip Steak ($16.50) offers a good example. The flavorful cut of beef had been nicely grilled and covered with sauteed mushrooms, then topped with a delicate sauce made of fresh cream and Irish whiskey. The counterpoint of flavors worked well; I only wished that the steak's edges had been trimmed of their fat.
Irish cheese plates are available from $5.50 for a single cheese to $17.50 for a sampling of more than half a dozen cheeses. My dining companion and I skipped the plate in favor of Irish smoked salmon ($6.50), which delivered four slices of homemade Irish soda bread topped with cream cheese and thinly sliced salmon that had been smoked over oak wood. Four long sticks of creamy, aged Irish cheddar added extra delight.
Two other dishes were as authentic as any on either side of the Atlantic. Irish stew ($9.50) was a hearty dish of lamb chunks first browned and then simmered in Guinness Stout with potatoes, carrots and onions. Served in a shallow casserole, the stew had freshly mashed potatoes piped around it and was served with more of The Pub's hearty soda bread. That bread came in handy when it came time to sop up the last traces of tasty brown sauce.
The second dish, colcannon ($4), was listed as a nightly special and struck me as Irish comfort food. It was a simple mix of mashed potatoes with plenty of butter, cream and sauteed onions, covered with a steamed kale leaf. While mashed potatoes appear on many menus around town, few can match this rendition for richness and flavor.
A friend who formerly lived in Oconomowoc, and who first told me about The Pub, recommended its fish fry. The standard dinner ($8.75) delivers three generous pieces of fried cod that are dipped in a thin, light batter and done to a light gold color so that the interior maintains its moistness. Extra pieces of fish are available for $2 each; for $13, diners can make the meal an all-you-can eat indulgence.
The french fries that came with the fish had the simple appeal that an extra minute in the deep-fryer delivers: They were crisp on the outside and creamy in the inside without a trace of greasiness. What intrigued me most was The Pub's coleslaw, dressed with Aelred Gannon's own secret dressing, which falls somewhere between American creamy and German sweet-sour. Shredded carrots gave the slaw extra crunch.
The final entree we tried came from the daily special list: A fresh filet of Arctic char ($15) had been perfectly broiled and lightly spiced. Each flake of the flavorful fish peeled away from its skin perfectly and was delightful by itself. The only weakness of the dish was the remoulade sauce served beside it. The sauce needed more mustard and capers to give it the appropriate kick.
Another impressive feature at The Pub was the quality of vegetables served as side dishes. Instead of the standard saute of carrots, zucchini and gold squash that seems to be served just about everywhere, the char and the steak came with carefully chosen thin spears of fresh asparagus. It was yet another detail that endeared me to this delightful casual dining spot.
The last were its desserts ($5 each). If I had to choose, I think my favorite would be the Bailey's Irish Cream cheesecake, built on a homemade walnut crust and swirled with rich chocolate. But in its absence, I'd settle for the Amaretto trifle, a layer of liqueur-soaked sponge cake topped with freshly whipped cream.
And then it would be time for Irish coffee ($5) - Irish whiskey carefully stirred into a cup of fresh, slightly sweetened coffee and topped with whipped cream.
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