And don’t call them dives
It’s both plain and easy to see that the current landscape of bars and restaurants in Delaware is growing by the month. Someone always seems to be announcing plans to expand, open a second location, reinvent themselves, or gut the old place and make it new again.
While that’s all well and good, there’s something to be said for the old-school joints dripping with history and character, instead of craft beer lists and customer appreciation clubs.
Wilmington boasts a trio of such haunts—all in a relatively small pocket on the edge of town. Mulrooney’s Tavern, Comegys Pub and the Jackson Inn all have been around longer than most of their patrons have been drinking adult beverages. And according to the bartenders who work there and the loyalists who belly up to those bars, there aren’t any plans to fix what ain’t broke.
Joe Quill serving you a pint of Guinness at Mulrooney’s Tavern. (Photo by Joe del Tufo)
Luck of the Irish at Mulrooney’s Tavern
Stand outside the McDonald’s that borders Elsmere and Wilmington, and you’ll see most cars zipping by, accelerating from the speed limit of 25 to 35 miles per hour once they get past the city limits. Heading south, almost where the overpass begins to cut it off from view, stands Mulrooney’s, a watering hole serving locals since 1943.
Out front is a simple package store, but behind that sits a bar where a thirsty drinker can get a beer as early as 9 a.m. Joe Quill, a St. Elizabeth’s High School grad who bought the tavern in 1997, says despite what some people might think from the outside, Mulrooney’s is not a dive bar.
“I always considered a dive bar as a pick-up bar or a sleazy place, and believe me, there used to be plenty of spots like that around here,” says Quill. “I think the reason we’ve survived is because we’re not a dive bar—not by the original standards, at least. This is a friendly place where the regulars will talk and debate about all sorts of stuff at the bar, but still respect each other.”
Brian Mulrooney, son of Hubert Mulrooney, who originally purchased the bar during World War II, echoes Quill. He says it was his father’s strict Irish background that let customers know his place was a nice bar to visit, but that riff-raff wouldn’t be tolerated.
“My dad always ran a tight ship, and I think the clientele always appreciated that, because they knew they could come here for a few pints and still feel safe,” says the 73-year-old Mulrooney, who began tending bar at age 21 and still works a few shifts each week.
Despite being a neighborhood bar with a package store attached, Mulrooney’s serves food in the dining room, which is drenched in green. Bar snacks, sandwiches and plenty of seafood, courtesy of Samuels & Son in Philadelphia, make up a three-page menu.
“Oh yeah, we got a waitstaff, full kitchen and everything,” says Quill. “I never wanted to put pool tables in, or take the kitchen out, because I felt like that would have brought in the wrong crowd. But we get a good bunch of people that come in for dinner, especially on the weekends.”
As for what has kept Mulrooney’s in business, even after Quill bought the joint almost 20 years ago, Mulrooney says it’s tough to pinpoint. “From my perspective, the money has always been good and the people are nice,” he says. “It sounds simple, I know, but you’d be amazed by how much people appreciate the idea of a neighborhood bar where they can go and just be themselves.”
Chris Henretty, who has 20 years at Comegys, serves (front to back) Bird Pagan, Louie
Ortez, Pete Ortiz, Shannan Josephson, Glen Thompson and Jeff Sifford.
(Photo by Fred Comegys)
Comegys=Cheers?
Imagine working as a photographer for the same local newspaper for 50 years. You’ve taken photos of heads of state, celebrities and professional athletes. You’ve captured images of burning buildings and victims in tears, as well as the joyous faces of countless high school athletes.
And yet, when your name is entered in a Google search, the top result is a neighborhood bar.
Such is the not-so-sorry lot of Fred Comegys, who, nearly three decades ago, along with his two brothers, purchased the pub that still stands on the corner of 3rd and Union streets. It’s there, particularly on Tuesday nights, that loyal patrons will find him, shooting the breeze with just about anyone who walks in the door, while his daughter, Candace Ryan, serves drinks.
“Me and Mark and Randy were the Three Blind Mice—that was our logo—and it really couldn’t be closer to the truth,” says Comegys, who retired from The News Journal’s photo desk in 2012 after 53 years. “When we opened, we didn’t know anything about the bar business, and we still don’t.”
But what he lacks in mixology knowledge, he more than makes up for in people knowledge. There typically isn’t a man or woman who walks into his pub who doesn’t know Comegys’ work. If they’re unfamiliar with it, Ryan, who started tending bar there at age 21, will fill them in.
“Heck, all you have to do is look around the place and ask who shot the amazing photos hanging all over the walls,” she says of her dad’s work. The photojournalist’s shots—including legends like Johnny Cash and Allen Iverson—start at the front of the bar, continue past the jukebox, and go all the way to the back, where a shuffleboard table stands.
“I think the shuffleboard has always been a draw, and people love to drop some coins in the box and start dancing when the mood strikes,” says Ryan. “But I guess the main reason people come back—and people seek us out—is that it’s just friendly in here. People are nice to each other, have a good laugh, throw a few back, and that’s it.”
Chuck Biliski, a Wilmington resident, has been a patron for more than 35 years. A former city employee who lived in the 600 block of Union Street, Biliski first walked through the front door of what was then called Scotty’s for a New Year’s Eve party in 1971.
“There used to be bars up and down this side of Union, but most of them have gone away, but Fred’s still here because people come to see him,” says Biliski, who has regularly brought his own grill and cooked complimentary hot dogs and burgers for customers over the years. “It’s a family, it really is. I hate to make the comparison to ‘Cheers,’ but if people know your name, they’ll yell it as soon as you walk through the door. That’s kinda cool, if you ask me.”
Comegys and his brothers purchased the pub in July of 1988, mostly to serve as a public place where they would invite friends out for a drink, instead of having them over to their living rooms. “This has always been a neighborhood bar,” he says, “so we never had to get gimmicky with anything. I guess people appreciate that. I just appreciate our girls—Patty, Terry and Candace—who pretty much take care of everything around here and keep the ship running.”
Part of the neighborhood vibe includes a Wednesday night shuffleboard league, Sunday cookouts when the Phillies or Eagles are playing, and block parties during holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day. Ryan says the crowds can be totally different from week to week, but there are always enough regulars to keep the place familiar and friendly.
“There’s a reason I’ve been working here for 20-some years,” says Ryan. “Sure, I love spending time with my dad and all, but waiting on the people that come in here isn’t like most other jobs, or I would have left years ago. These people make work fun, and there really isn’t much more you can ask than that.”
Plenty of room at the Jackson Inn
One can hardly be blamed for passing the Jackson Inn on North DuPont Road and feeling a twinge of uncertainty about what goes on in the old bar. For starters, the sign in the back window that reads “Bates Motel: No Vacancy” is enough to scare off many passersby.
But inside there’s a feeling of stepping into someone’s living room—with a bar attached. There’s a certain homey feel to it, another great jukebox that rivals the one at Comegys Pub, a ton of banners and quirky posters hanging on the walls and ceilings, and booths and tables with tabletop lamps from days of old.
Owner Fred Bourdon, or “Freddy,” as he’s called by regulars, either tends bar or sits by the register and watches the regulars yuk it up. Though the sign out front says the place opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, it really depends on what time Bourdon feels like getting things going.
One constant guests can rely on at the Inn is the bi-monthly reading series, Second Saturday Poets, which takes place from 5-7 p.m. on—when else?—the second Saturday of every month. Second Saturday typically features guest poets ranging from beginners to the state laureate to nationally published writers, followed by an open mic session.
It’s that kind of quirky charm—blending the likes of Shakespeare’s sonnets with Budweiser’s bubbles—that keeps regulars like Mike Logothetis, a Newark native, coming back to “The J.I.,” as he calls it. Logothetis’ first trip to the Inn took place “sometime in the mid-2000s,” and he remembers being taken aback the moment he walked in the door.
“It’s kinda funky in there, and I mean that in a good way,” says Logothetis. “I remember thinking the draft beer selection was better than I expected, and it was friendlier than I imagined it would be. I guess it looks a little dingy from the outside, but inside there is such a warm, welcoming vibe. It’s a real throwback to the bars of old.”
Tanya Smith, a Wilmington resident who frequents the Inn, says the place is far enough removed from Trolley Square and Market Street that people can let their hair down. Upper class or middle class, businessperson or blue collar, they can all belly up with ease. “We went there on a random Friday night when (local band) The Cameltones were playing, and it was packed; everyone was goofing off and it was a real liquored-up crowd,” says Smith. “It’s where rich people go to act like idiots—I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
And if a “liquored-up idiot” should find that his cell phone has died while he was hanging out, making a call for a ride home isn’t a problem. What may be Wilmington’s last pay phone hangs on the wall, and it’s in working order. Heck, it’s the phone Bourdon answers if someone calls the Jackson Inn, day or night.
By car, Mulrooney’s, Comegys and the Jackson Inn are easily accessible—only a total of two miles and about eight minutes separates the three establishments. But combined, they offer a long history of good times and laughs, a history of serving Wilmington’s drinkers responsibly and well for decades.
