Since 1963, Gene McCarthy’s Bar and Tavern has been serving up beer and booze to the blue collar workers in the old First Ward. In recent years that formula has begun to change, as people from all over Buffalo gravitate further and further to the waterfront. A little over two years ago, a new set of owners took over the operation, and since that time McCarthy’s has been upholding the community standards that Gene originally put forth, while adding their own operational ingredients to the formula.
“We’re basically a community center with beer,” co-owner Kristin Rose told me. “Today we’re operating the Old First Ward Brewery located directly next door in a free-standing building. It’s a three and a half barrel system that allows us to feature five different craft beers in the pub – the glycol lines run underground directly from the brewery to our tap system at the pub. We also have thirteen conditioning tanks, which means that we’re hoping to have seven different beers on tap and experiment with seasonal brews in the near future.”
Kristin attributes her involvement with the pub and the brewery to Brewing News publisher Bill Metzger who (before he was co-owner of McCarthy’s) was conducting beer-related programming with the former owner at the pub. “It was Bill who inquired of the owner why he wasn’t serving up craft beers,” said Kristin. “The owner (at the time) told Bill that if he felt so strongly about it, why not purchase the pub? And that’s exactly what he set out to do. I had been attending a lot of Bill’s brewing functions at the pub, and had a proficient managerial background, so Bill hired me as the manager of the operation. Today we have a great team of four owners who all contribute to different facets of the business. Dustin Tower is the head chef – he was the formerly at the Roycroft. Then we have our head brewer, Matt Conron who was once the head brewer for Breckenridge Brewing in Buffalo. Bill is the ‘master palate’ and has incredible inroads with the national beer industry. For the size of our operation, we have managed to bring incredible resources to the table.”
Speaking to Kristin, it’s easy to see that the pub and the brewery are continually on the upswing, partially because of her incredibly diverse background. From book keeping practices to grassroots engagements, combined with her involvement in community projects and environmental initiatives, along with a handful of green construction endeavors, the pub and the brewery and constantly heading in new directions. “Our beer garden is almost complete,” Kristin mentioned. “The spot in front of the brewery used to be a small parking lot. Thanks to Mike Shatzel at The Blue Monk, we’re getting picnic tables and Adirondack chairs – Blue Monk is getting a new patio (the beer garden will have the original Blue Monk patio furniture). We’re going to be building a ‘sound wall’ from recycled materials – the idea came from a brewery in Austin Texas. It will also be a living wall. Then we’re adding new bike racks. Our spent grains are picked up by People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) and taken to Silo City where they are composted for use at their urban garden sites. These are all important initiatives, but in the end our main objective is to serve beer and food outside, in a nice sunny beer garden atmosphere. The beer garden will be functional at the end of May.”
Gene McCarthy’s | 73 Hamburg Street | Buffalo, NY 14204 | (716) 855-8948 | Facebook