Kearney's Public House to Open in Mentor Next Week

The hospitality group comprised of Brendan Kearney, David Bartulovic and brothers McPat and Seamus Coyne are behind some of the most popular concepts in and around Willoughby. Collectively, they operate Nora’s Public House, Wild Goose, Sol, Fiona’s Coffee Bar, Mickey’s Ice Cream and four Crowley’s locations.

At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24 the team will open the doors to their latest creation, Kearney’s Public House (6316 Center St.) in Mentor. It has been four years since they purchased the property, long home to Gramma Sue’s. That building has been joined by a new addition to create a multidimensional space that pairs an intimate Irish pub with a more contemporary Irish-American restaurant.

“We always wanted to do a legit, authentic Irish pub,” says Kearney. “Our families are off-the-boat from Ireland, and we really wanted to represent what we see over there, the people that we meet. We took a lot of time to plan out the interior – trying to find as much of that Old World feel that we can add to it. There are a lot of really great Irish pubs around here, but we wanted to put our spin on it.”

Kearney’s recreated the Irish pub snug experience, will host live Irish music sessions, and chef Ben David has created a menu that blends Irish classics with creative American fare. For the past five years, David was running the kitchen at Nora’s.

“He’s ungodly talented,” says Kearney. “We’re thinking that from a volume perspective, this may be our highest-volume store.”

One of the favorites that they imported from the Emerald Isle is the spice bag, a beloved post-pub feast. The dish – there and in Mentor – is a mashup of fried chicken, veggies and Asian spices served with dipping sauces. It is the first spice bag that I’ve seen in Northeast Ohio. The menu also features salads, potato leek soup, Celtic egg rolls, steamed mussels with sausage, battered fish sandwiches, Reubens, burgers, pastas, fish and chips and a half dozen Sicilian-style pizzas. The Sunday brunch menu offers hearty Irish breakfasts alongside American diner classics. From afternoon on, the kitchen will offer a comforting Sunday roast with all the trimmings.

Kearney’s seats approximately 100 people indoors and another 20 on the patio.

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