For the second round of interviews, I went to McSorley’s Old Ale House on East 7th street, between 2nd and 3rd avenue. The reason why I was interested in researching this business was because it was the oldest bar in New York City. The first time I showed up, it was a Wednesday at 6:30 pm. I stood outside the bar contemplating on whether or not it was a good idea to walk into an ale house, but I finally found the courage to do so. As soon as I walked in I realized I may have made have made a mistake. The pub was super crowded and the the bartenders were juggling taking drink orders from one end of the bar to the other. I pushed my way through a group of older men in business suits enjoying their beers and caught the attention of one of the only two bartenders on duty. I explained my intentions but could tell the bartender wasn’t completely focused on what I was saying. He joked around saying he would do the interview “if you have a 100 dollar bill in your pocket, cause that’s how much money I would lose doing an interview while I could be serving customers.” I felt disappointed and started to think I had failed at being able to speak to the business owner, but instead he wrote me a note and told me to come back the next day at 11 am and ask for Teresa, when the bar was just opening and it wouldn’t be nearly as hectic. As it turned out, the bartender I had spoken to was the actual owner of McSorley’s, named Matthew Maher.
So the next morning I showed up to the bar. Only this time when I walked in, there were a group of college students standing with movie production equipment int he middle of the pub, and I had walked into a scene of a woman bartender being filmed while pretending to serve beers. Turned out, a couple of NYU students were working on a similar project as me, and were making a documentary of McSorley’s. I definitely felt intimidated by their camera supplies and professional equipment, seeing that I was just going to ask the owner a few questions. The students joked around saying “I guess we just beat you to it”. Since Teresa was busy being filmed, I ended up interviewing another long time employee and close friend of the owner, and his name was Richie Buggy. Richie and I sat down at a table, and the first thing I noticed about the bar was its interior decorations. The entire place was decked out with framed newspaper articles, antiques, posters, awards, flags, and even a pair of Houdini’s original handcuffs attached to a railing. On top of one of the tables and chairs I could see large letters spelling out “Be Good or Be Gone”. This was one of McSorley’s mottos, in addition to “Good Ale, Raw Onions, and No Ladies”, before the 1970s. Everything was obviously vintage and the furniture made me feel like I had travelled back to the 1800s. Teresa pointed out the original coal burning stove to me, and I recognized a fireplace in the corner. What also caught my eye was the insane amount of sawdust all over the floor. Richie explained to me that it’s something butcher shops and bars have been doing for a long while now. They would spread around sawdust to preserve the wooden floors from frequent spills of liquids (in this case alcohol). The place smelled like aged wood.
McSorley’s Old Ale House has had 4 official owners since its opening. The original owner was John McSorley, an Irish immigrant born in Tyrone, Ireland. McSorley traveled to New York to escape the potato famine that had spread to Northern Ireland, and brought his famous secret beer recipe with him. To make a living, he opened the bar in 1854, in what is now considered the East Village, and was previously a neighborhood mostly occupied by Irish immigrants. The building actually becomes the home of John McSorley and his family after they purchase it, and their business is located on the first floor of the building. After John passes away, his son Bill McSorley takes over the ale house. The bar is still in business all throughout Prohibition in the 1920s. Bill sells the pub to a retired policeman and loyal customer, Bill O’Connell. When Daniel passed away three years later, his daughter Dorothy O’Connell temporarily takes ownership of the business. Her son Danny had control of the bar before selling it to its current owner, Matthew Maher in 1977. Teresa, Matthew’s daughter, is the first female employee the bar had seen. It was important to note that up until 1970, McSorley’s was strictly a men’s only pub. It wasn’t common to find women in bars in the early 20th century in the first place, but the pub made an effort to allow no woman to enter. In 1969 the business was sued after two women who had walked in and were refused service, and their case had won. The ale house was officially open for business to men and women. They even had a women’s restroom installed almost two decades later.
McSorley’s gets a mix of customers. In the beginning it was mostly locals that would come by for a drink, but since it has been recognized as a historical landmark, they have encountered a large number of tourists and customers that are interested in buying a beer at the city’s oldest ale house. Notable visitors include John Lennon, E.E. Cummings, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Boss Tweed, and the New York Rangers after they won the Stanley Cup in 1994. Richie mentioned the loyal employees had been working at McSorleys for multiple decades, including a bartender who was Ukrainian and had been employed there for 43 years now.
McSorley’s has had pretty much no problems with possible issues like rising rent costs or financial burdens. The Mahers get funding from the government, and also from old friends that support the business. They are not involved with any government agencies or neighborhood organizations. The owners have seen the neighborhood of the East village transform from a haven for European immigrants to a trendy residential area preoccupied by hipsters. The family hopes to continue with the business the way it is, and not make any changes for the future. McSorley’s is acknowledged by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Polina Safovich
