Catherine Rooney’s opens on Main Street

If you haven't seen the new building that's sprung up on Main Street—or heard from one of your friends—Catherine is coming.  On Monday, Catherine Rooney's bar and restaurant joined the ranks of favorite university student haunts like Grotto's, Klondike Kate's and Deer Park.  

Catherine Rooney's, a popular Wilmington Irish pub, has a location in Trolley Square for seven years, but Joe McCoy, one of the owners of the restaurant and bar, says he's excited about the opening of the Newark location.

 "We love the vibe that's on Main Street," McCoy says. "We love the sense of community that's on Main Street, and we like the partnership that goes on between the university and the business owners."

Staying true to the restaurant's roots is something that's important to McCoy, who has been in the restaurant business for approxiately 20 years.

The restaurant's chef, Damian Durnin, is a traditional chef who was trained in Ireland, so the food is authentic as well as the decor, McCoy says.

"The building is what you'd see if you went to Ireland to go to an Irish pub," he says.

 The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week and the menu features traditional Irish foods like Shepherd's Pie, Braised Corn Beef and Cabbage, and Guinness Stew. The restaurant also includes classic favorites like burgers, ribs and Philly cheese steak.

McCoy thinks this variety will set Catherine Rooney's apart from other bars on Main Street.

 In spite of the popularity of Catherine Rooney's in Trolley Square, the development of the bar was met with some opposition.

According to the minutes of the July 27, 2009 Newark City Council Meeting, residents of the Washington House had serious objections to the opening of another bar on Main Street.

The council was also presented with a petition that stated that 29 out of the 30 residents of the Washington House were against any new businesses that wanted to remain open after midnight, with one remaining neutral.

Despite the residents of the Washington House's complaints, the council voted 4-2 to approve a liquor license for Catherine Rooney's. As of now the restaurant will only be open until midnight, but with time that can be extended until 1 a.m.

Senior Christine Colonel, who lives above Catherine Rooney's in the Newark Bank Building, echoed some of the sentiments of the residents of the Washington House.

"Overall, it's not really an issue, everyone here is excited," Colonel says. She doesn't look forward to the nights that the bar is open, and she chooses to stay in. However, she is excited to frequent the bar when she does want to go out.

Senior Thomas Shluger thinks that the bar will be a great new addition to the already exciting Main Street scene.  

 "It's going to be great to have more bar variety on Main Street, especially one with the Trolley Square reputation and all," Shluger says. "I like the pub type of bars too, so it'll be fun to have more than just Kildare's to go to for that."