Thursday, September 4, 2008 , Updated 12:11 p.m., September 4, 2008
UPDATED: McCarty’s Restaurant & Tavern on US 75 in Richardson sure looks to be closed — but looks can be deceiving
McCarty's Restaurant & Tavern, the family-run restaurant on US 75 in Richardson, appears to have closed. The owners could not be reached but the restaurant-bar sports a number of telltale signs:
- On a recent weekday at 1 p.m., the place was locked.
- If you call the number during regular business hours, no one answers and the message says This mailbox is full.
- The MySpace page hasn't been updated or visited since 4-9-2008.
Is the assumption that it's closed too hasty? We think not.
McCarty's sprang up to replace The Golden Eagle Restaurant, a beloved breakfast spot and post-high-school-football-game hangout that originally opened in 1958. By 2006, the restaurant was in decline, with the owners at the time conducting a well publicized auctioning-off of goods. The grandson of the original owner took over and re-opened it as McCarty’s Restaurant & Tavern. But the restaurant seemed like it tried to do too much, with extended hours (from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.) -- halfway between a bar and a restaurant, and never really getting either concept right.
UPDATE: Hooray, finally reached owner Jason Brown, who blames an unidentified bad hire for what he says was a deliberate attempt to bring McCarty's down. "She was managing my bar, she was trying to take me out of business so she could take it over. The two months I let her run this place, she dropped my sales. I was gone for three months. But we’re open right now.
"The liquor license wasn’t my fault. I hired a company to do that. When I went to do my renewal, I found out she had never filed it under the state of Texas. I spun my wheels for 45 days to get that going again. You add those little things up and it means no revenue. But I’ve got a whole new thing coming out with 'industry nights', karaoke, we’re implementing all those things back in there. I’m about to fire the last guy involved."
As for the phones not working, he says he's planning on getting a new phone system. "Right now, I've got two phones that half-ass work. There's a whole lot of little things that need to be done. I spent half my morning replacing paper towel holders – they were just trying to make it look run down to take me out of business."
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fratermus, says:
I went to Golden Eagle many times, and McCarty's only once. I had no love for the place, although I was looking for a neighborhood bar less smokey, divey, and loud than the Liquid Company.
Anonymous
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin, says:
A few months ago, they were closed down because they forgot to renew their liquor license, and opened back up once they sorted it out. (I was there for comedy night, which was actually pretty amusing.)
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Jake Shuler, says:
How do you "forget" to renew your liquor license? Wow! Well with this news today, and the news of Metro Grill yesterday; it looks like we're headed for another wave of bar closings! :-(
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Chris Bender, says:
I know that McCarty's was open this weekend, but can't speak for anything after the 1st.
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
*How do you "forget" to renew your liquor license?*
I imagine if I owned a bar, I'd be inebriated more often than not. That, my friend, is how you forget...to do a lot of things. =p
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin, says:
Scott, forget buying a house. Let's buy McCarty's and finally achieve our dream of owning a bar and getting alcohol poisoning.
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Jake Shuler, says:
LOL! Okay Scott, you got me there! I'm pretty sure when I open a bar I won't HAVE the money to renew the liquor license because I will have drank all the profits!
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
Don't like the location. Also, we need a place like Pearl that has an upstairs to sleep in.
Rick, you wouldn't happen to be experiencing financial troubles, would you? =p
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Andrew Laska, says:
They are NOT closed. I just spoke to the owner.
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
k, any elaboration on why there's confusion?
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Jake Shuler, says:
Ohh wow! Yes, please do explain Andrew...
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
megan zerwekh, says:
hello- i'm megan, the manager at McCartys, been here for just over two years, along with the bar! we are definately not out of busines! our weekend hours of operation changed due to the fact that football season had not yet started, and the myspace hasn't been changed because i am currently in the process of revamping it now. what has been going is a series of rumors intended to bring us down! we hired a consultant company to come in and help us out, in line of the current trend of bar closings. not only did they fail to bring anything to the table, they just wanted our building, and our customers. we are still a neighborhood pub, owned and operated by the same familiar faces, and appriciate all support given by some. i also offer the challanage to any of you doubters to come by and have a drink with me, i'm always here! thanks again for those who continue to support us! -megz
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Jake Shuler, says:
We appreciate the update MegZ - I'm relieved to hear DFW hasn't lost yet another joint. We wish you the best of luck and many more years to come. Maybe us over at Dallas Dive Bars can come check you guys out soon...
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
xdavidwattsx, says:
Hey, Meg. How about better happy hour specials? Last time I was in there was a huge disappointment and the service was lousy so I haven't been back.
You don't even need to pay a consultant to tell you that!
Anonymous
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, says:
meg, thanks for the comment. i tried to email you but haven't heard back. meanwhile, i got ahold of the owner and have updated the story accordingly.
Staff
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin, says:
MegZ: Does that challenge come with a drink on the house?
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
MegZ: Does that challenge come with a drink on the house?
We'll be there tonight if so.
Also, would be great if the complimentary drink aligned with a PegNews user happy hour special.
Finally, I really hope the last dude "involved" reads TGub's update before Jason axes him!
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
megan zerwekh, says:
happy hour here is pretty good. $2 dosmestic bottles, $3 import bottles, $3.50 wells. $2.75 domestic drafts, and everything else is accordingly $.50-$.75 cheaper than usual. we also have great drink specials that change nightly. we fired all of our bad servers, and if you ever do have a complaint about the service, please let management know, i can't watch everyone every second of the night, so i'd appriciate the feedback! i'm working tonight, print this out, come in, and yes, i'll buy you a drink. i'll be behind the bar.
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
LITTLE_TITANIC, says:
never been there personally, but all i seem to hear is "Do i get any free cheese with all my Whining?". Support your local Bar dude's, bar's like there are mostly there for you to begin with.
Anonymous
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
megan zerwekh, says:
haha thanks titanic..i like the way you think
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
xdavidwattsx, says:
"Support your local Bar dude's, bar's like there are mostly there for you to begin with."
This sentence is gold on so many levels.
Anonymous
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
rekennelly, says:
I've been in Richardson for 25 years. The Golden Eagle was a staple so McCarty's is fighting an uphill battle. I went to McCarty's twice (only for the AA miles). The service was weak & the food was worse! Better Luck Next Time. Go Irish!
Anonymous
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Matt Anderson, says:
Our office group lunches there occasionally, and did so on Friday. It's definitely open, and lunch (burgers, sandwiches, etc.) is good and reasonably priced. Service has usually been good with smaller groups, a little slower with larger groups (we had 9 there on Friday).
Verified
1 year, 3 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
mediawonk, says:
Went by McCarty's tonight (Dec. 6) and it appears to be closed again, and less likely to reopen. From the few lights on inside, I could see that wall decorations (including several flat-panel TVs) were gone, as well as some tables/furnishings.
We tried it twice, and were disappointed both times - weak food and beer selection, and indifferent service at best. You'd think an Irish pub would at least have Guinness on tap, but they had the typical lame collection of mass-produced domestics (the server said "uh, I think we have Guinness cans"). It's a shame - we live in the neighborhood and would love to have seen it succeed. Perhaps the owners of the flourishing Fillmore in Plano could extend their brand and reopen McCarty's under a different name (and VERY different management style).
Anonymous
1 year agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Chris Kidd, says:
Sounds like this pretentious a-hole had a load of excuses why his place didnt work. Lets face it: Some people know how to run restaurants, some dont, Hence why you see bad restaurants going belly-up right now.
Verified
1 year agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, says:
hey mediawonk, thanks for your input. half the time i drive by, it looks dark and i think, ok they've finally closed. then the next time, the lights'll be on and it looks like everything's cooking.
maybe you saw the nail in the coffin
Staff
1 year agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Andrew Laska, says:
I drove by yesterday at 5 PM and then around 8PM. Closed. Not even the lights in the parking lot were on.
I was jumping onto Peg to seek out this thread but obviously I wasn't the only one to notice.
Verified
1 year agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal