New Irish pub has a decided Northeast flair

Staff Writer

The antique third floor was taken apart board by board and carried down to build the second floor dining room.

Inches of paint were blasted away to reveal the building's original red brick walls.

The antiquated lamps, stools, and tables are originals transplanted from some of the city's most historic buildings and facades.

Stepping into Finnigan's Wake, Third and Spring Garden sts., is a trip into history.

The owners, Bill Stinson, Chuck Volz, and Mike Driscoll, all Northeast residents, wanted to fill this Irish pub with authentic items from Philadelphia's past. They hit paydirt when Strawbridge & Clothier went out of business.

Stinson, a former Democratic state senator and an avid curio collector, purchased artifacts like the original S&C board of directors' conference room table, red leather chairs, and a bronze chandelier from the '30s. Stinson also has a large collection of original signs from other landmark Phialdelphia businesses that hang on the walls of Finnigan's Wake.

Even the building is a piece of Philadelphia history. Its existence has been traced as far back as 1840. Most recently, it housed a casket showroom and warehouse. Some of the caskets were left behind, Driscoll said.

"We filled one with ice and bottles of beer and placed it at the door for our St. Patrick's Day celebration," he said.

The owners designed the building's facade to resemble O'Connell Street, a commercial district in Ireland.

From the street, Finnigan's Wake is easy to recognize by its vivid colors. Each color--purple, orange, green, yellow, and brown--represents one of the five businesses under Finnigan's roof.

There's the Finnigan's Wake pub, an Irish gift shop, a catering hall, the Quiet Man Pub, and a soon-to-be open auction hall. The owners also plan to open a rooftop deck and put cafe tables outside on Spring Garden St.

The restaurant level of the building is bedecked in antiques. The ceiling is adorned with 100-year-old green tin tiles that meet the original red brick walls. The wooden floor was painstakingly taken from an upper level, removed plank by plank, and replaced in the restaurant. The bar was built with bricks from the building to look as if it has been there for hundreds of years. There are two bars on the main level and a total of four in the facility.

The food served in the pub is purely Irish, and prepared by Chef Ted Limsuvanrot. Entrees such as Guinness Beef Stew with Irish potatoes, Shepherd's Pie, and Bacon and Potato cakes are all under $7.50. There are also generic choices:

hamburgers, fries and cheesesteaks. It may be an Irish pub, but it's in Philadelphia after all.

The appetizers like buffalo wings, cheese nachos and jalapeno poppers are meant to be eaten with the great beers on tap, like Guinness and Harp, or popular domestic beers as well, like Coors or Bud.

A meal can be topped off with one of the many Irish inspired desserts: Bailey's Irish Cream cheesecake, Jamison Irish Whiskey creme caramel cake, bread and butter pudding or chocolate Jamison whiskey mousse.

While Finnigan's opened March 7 in time for the crucial St. Patrick's Day, they plan a gala grand opening in the fall.

The pub features entertainment Thursday through Sunday nights on their small stage. Acts like the Sean Fleming Band, Secret Service, and Blackthorn are scheduled to play the pub. There are Happy Hour specials every Friday night.

The banquet hall is the perfect place to have and Irish wedding, Driscoll said. It can seat up to 400 people. The large room's walls are decorated with murals depicting a young man's journey from Ireland to Philadelphia. The bar in the banquet hall, dated circa 1910, was a gift to the owners, from an old bar on 2nd and Wildy sts.

It has been Driscoll's dream since he was 18 years old, to own an Irish pub, now he owns one that could possibly be the largest in the United States. Move over Cheers, Irish pubs are the hottest thing in the world right now, according to its proud owners.