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People & parties

Fitzgerald's tavern wines and dines in high Irish style

By JENNIFER STEWART
Published May 29, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - The place is kind of hidden.

Fitzgerald's Irish Tavern sits on a corner of quiet Nebraska Avenue, right behind a dry cleaners and beauty shop that face busy Main Street.

But a number of locals have not only found the upscale pub, they've frequented it since the opening in February. The patrons, who include attorneys, doctors and entrepreneurs, often make up a "who's who" of area business and city leaders.

"It's a higher class clientele," said general manager Sherry Barnett.

And they don't come from very far. "Most people who are here right now can actually walk home ... That's what's neat about it," Barnett said at a wine tasting Wednesday night.

City Council members Matthew McCaffery and Marilynn deChant went to the tasting from a council meeting at City Hall, which is right around the corner. "They're so strenuous ... I come here to unwind," McCaffery said.

Around 50 guests at Fitzgerald's mingled inside the place and out front, where tables were set up for wine and appetizers that included baby quiche, brie with sun-dried tomatoes and cucumbers with cream cheese and salmon.

The City Council recently approved outdoor seating for the pub and nearby Cafe Grand. The city also purchased the parking lot across the street from Fitzgerald's, as discussions about how to make the area more pedestrian-friendly continue.

Inside Fitzgerald's, lighted tea light candles in glass holders line the close to 35-foot mahogany bar in the evening. The main room is a narrow space with a handful of tables, a fabulous 99-CD jukebox, and flat-screen televisions on every wall that show a variety of sports, soon via National Football League and Major League Baseball programming packages.

The tavern's recently completed back room features a half dozen more booths and televisions.

Food ranging from sandwiches to shepherd's pie is prepared in a small kitchen. The building used to house a Laundromat, and $250 in quarters was found during construction, Barnett said.

Fitzgerald's owner Danny Kuntz, who also owns sports bars in Holiday and Palm Harbor, sought to duplicate the hometown Irish tavern atmosphere that his grandfather created with the first Fitzgerald's in Oswego, N.Y.

"(Danny) just wanted to make it a neighborhood gathering place," Barnett said. "And that's what it's become."

Fitzgerald's Irish Tavern is at 5811 Nebraska Ave. Another wine tasting may be held in late June or early July. Call (727) 816-9092 for more information.

[Last modified May 29, 2005, 01:05:19]