September 06, 2016

Popular Manayunk bar closes its doors

Owner says building costs forced shutdown of Kildare's location on Main Street

By Daniel Craig
PhillyVoice Staff

Google Maps/Street View

Kildare's Irish Pub in Manayunk.

A popular watering hole on Manayunk's Main Street has closed.

In a private Facebook group for Manayunk residents, one user posted a photo that had been taken of the front door of Kildare's Irish Pub. A sign taped to the door reads:

After 13 wonderful years, Kildare's has closed. We thank you for your patronage.

Kildare's former pubs in the city's Society Hill neighborhood, State College, King of Prussia and elsewhere all have come and gone. Even its flagship pub in West Chester, Chester County, has been sold to new owners.

There is one remaining Kildare's in Scranton, according to the bar's website.

In a press release received Tuesday afternoon, the Kildare's owner Dave Magrogan said various issues with the bar's building led to the decision to close the Manayunk location.

"(I)t's time to move on," Magrogan said. "The building needs considerable improvements, including plumbing, a new roof and new HVAC, and we couldn't keep operating it under the current conditions ... At the end of the day, the building is old, which was causing us to lose money, and needs a complete rebuild and rebrand to be competitive."

A screenshot of an email sent to bar staff has circulated on social media and Reddit. The email also says the "deterioration of the building and spiraling costs to maintain it" led to the decision.

Magrogan's company, the Dave Magrogan Group, is considering opening a Red Star Craft House in Manayunk, the restauranteur said in the press release. DMG already operates a Red Star Craft House in the Exton Square Mall. That restaurant opened in 2014 and specializes in burger, pizza and craft beer.

"Kildare's Manayunk had an incredible run, but Manayunk has evolved, as has our company," Magrogan said. "I'm excited by the prospect of bringing in a higher-end destination to the neighborhood."

Several mourned the apparent closure on Twitter:

It's a sad day hearing that kildares in manayunk shut down, so many drunken happy hours there that I don't remember 😞
— Tom Logan (@LOG_cAbiN91) September 6, 2016