by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
When O'Niell's Pub shut down in 2004, owner Rob O'Niell wanted the new location to stay true to the original.
"We took an existing building and created basically the same space we had at our first location in Nob Hill - kind of an updated look, but people will still recognize it as O'Niell's Pub," he said.
O'Niell's previous location at 3211 Central Ave. NE shut down in 2004 because the landlords refused to renew the lease.
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The new location at 4310 Central Ave. SE opened its doors on July 13. O'Niell said the pub was mobbed.
"We opened on a Thursday, and the place was three-quarters full," he said. "On Friday and Saturday - the next two weeks or so - it was standing room in here. People were waiting out the door on Saturday nights."
O'Niell said the advantages of the new location have been the addition of a patio and a large parking lot.
O'Niell said although the pub was closed for a year and a half, it still retained 30 percent of its old employees.
April Park, a bartender at O'Niell's, worked at the old location for a year and returned to work at the new location. Park said the building change has benefited the customers and employees as well.
"The changes have made it a lot more efficient for the staff as far as the building - the way things are set up for us," Park said.
Park said many of the pub's regulars have returned.
"Unbelievably so," she said. "They just all flock back."
UNM alumna, Hope Delarue, said she is an O'Niell's regular.
"I think they (the old and new locations) are pretty similar actually, but the patio makes all the difference," she said. "I love it. I think it's awesome. It's definitely the new place."
O'Niell said despite the building change, the menu and traditions - such as the pint-glass promotion - have stayed the same. O'Niell said the pint-glass promotion allows customers who have bought 20 pints of beer to have a personal glass on O'Niell's 144-pint-glass wall for six weeks, then they are permitted to take it home.
"We didn't want to have O'Niell's go away. Everybody would be clamoring for it to come back then say, 'Wait a minute, this is not O'Niell's,'" he said.
Ryan Brophy, a new customer, said he came to O'Niell's for the pint-glass promotion. He said he likes O'Niell's atmosphere.
"It's pretty laid-back," he said. "You can actually talk to people instead of having to yell over everybody. I'm not too fond of bars that are loud in the Downtown area."
O'Niell said he maintains the pub's atmosphere by not mounting televisions and avoiding loud advertisements on the tables.
"I've stayed true to that," he said. "People can come in here and have a conversation with somebody and not get bombarded."
Keeping with the mellow atmosphere, O'Niell said he will continue to enforce a stern cut-off policy.
"If you can't behave yourself, don't bother coming in," he said. "If you can, I'd love to see you."
Although it's too soon to say the new O'Niell's has made it, the pub is well on its way back, O'Niell said.
"We are not going to be just a flash in the pan," he said. "Our customer base is coming back, and people are enjoying themselves."
