Crunch time is coming, and McGillin’s Olde Ale House is getting serious about its St. Patrick’s Day business: the port-a-potty units have arrived.
For its annual holiday celebrations, the city’s oldest tavern expects so many customers its restrooms cannot accommodate them.
Co-owner and manager Chris Mullins, Jr. said preparing for the holiday is like holding practices for the big game—it’s the biggest event of the year. “It’s more of a Super Bowl than ever,” he said.
“The [season] starts in the last two weeks of February, and lasts through the holiday and up to March Madness,” said Mullins, who is the third generation of his family to operate the establishment that first opened in 1860 and was was recently declared the Best Irish Bar in the U.S. by the Travel Channel.
Mullins said when it comes to vacations for the tavern’s 95 full- and part-time employees: “Not in March. It’s a month of all hands on deck.”
And even after the holiday, there’s no rest for the weary.
“We have lots to do the day after St. Patrick’s Day, cleanup is the main priority. We have tons of calls for lost items, credit cards, jewelry, coats, IDs, cell phones, wallets, shoes, purses…you name it we get a call for it! It is non-stop phone calls on the 18th.” he said.
While most taverns gear up for St. Patrick’s Day, McGillin’s has an extra burden when it comes to traditions: Not only is it the city’s oldest drinking and eating establishment — but it’s also one of the city’s oldest continuously operating businesses. Founded by William McGillin at 1310 Drury St. in Center City (which is essentially an alley), the bar was on the first floor of a three-story row home. McGillin had children with his first wife, and after she died he married 17-year-old Catherine. The pair raised their 13 children upstairs.
McGillin’s recipe for the traditional St. Patrick’s Day beverage, Irish coffee, is:
1 1/4 oz Gelston Irish Whiskey
Bean2Bean Coffee (locally roasted)
Topped with Whipped Cream
This year, the tavern will feature a twist on the traditional Irish Coffee, called a Nutty Irishman Coffee. It is the same as the Irish Coffee but with an added shot of Frangelico (hazelnut liquor).
Mullins said he prefers not to get into the specifics of how much extra inventory is ordered, but said, “The main beers that double are our Bud Light, which we dye green for the week between the parade, and St. Pat’s and O’Hara’s, which is our Irish Stout, direct from Ireland.
When Prohibition began in 1920, it was expected to last a few months. Catherine McGillin locked the front door and served food. (But Mullins said he wouldn’t be surprised if she added a splash of whiskey to the cups of tea she served.) When it ended in 1933, she took the same key from her breast pocket and opened the door.
Another tradition can be seen in the multitude of history displayed on its walls.
The signs of defunct businesses, like department stores Lit Brothers and Gimbels, show the tavern’s lasting power. Mullins said that when the Strawbridge & Clothier store at 8th and Market Streets closed in 2006, employees brought one of its exterior, circular stone signs to be hung there.
In 2003, a business older than McGillin’s, J.E. Caldwell, a jeweler who started in 1839, closed, and its sign was added to the collection.
John Wanamaker, whose flagship department store was nearby, was said to be a frequent customer. “We have heard stories that he did, I assume, in his younger years as he died during prohibition,” said Mullins.
Legend has it that as a top Wanamaker official, he would come to the bar for lunch and pass out from his drinking, and either Wanamaker employees or McGillin’s staff would bring him back to work.
Mullins said many Irish tourists visiting Philadelphia stop by the tavern, which can be hard to find, as Drury Street is a small side street. Prior to cell phones, many customers or potential customers could wander for a while before they found it.
And how they found it – and still find it – might surprise some.
“We are told constantly though from tourists that we have the friendliest citizens — so many people stop and ask how to get here and they are amazed by how friendly we are.” said Mullins.
McGillins has been a draw not only for tourists, but also for networks. NBC’s The Today Show did a show from there during the 2016 Democratic Convention, and MSNBC’s Morning Joe broadcast from there every day during the 2016 Democratic Convention.
Catherine McGillin died in 1937, and her daughter Mercedez and a nephew took over. The prosperity following the post-WWII era saw good times, but changing times, as Philadelphia – and other urban enclaves – began losing significant population to the suburbs. In 1958, the McGillin family sold the tavern to two brothers who were the sons of Polish immigrants – maybe their names were lost in translation because one one spelled his last name differently: Henry Spaniak and Joe Shepaniak.
Henry, Mullins’ grandfather, and Joe, his great uncle, took a risk, Mullins said, as the business climate in center city was not good.
But “they knew how to party and have a good time. Love of fun. They probably saved McGillin’s,” he said.
In 1993, Mullins’ parents, Chris Sr. and Henry’s daughter, Mary Ellen Spaniak Mullins, bought the tavern when the city was again on shaky economic ground. A comeback that begun under Mayor Ed Rendell’s administration benefitted McGillin’s and every other restaurant and bar in the city.
Mulllins does not have children, but said he has many nieces and nephews who might someday carry on the family tradition of hosting an Irish pub.
