The River Shannon Irish Pub over on Armitage has been celebrating its 80th year all this month of August. That’s a lot of salooning to document. I got drunk there, on more than one occasion, mostly in 1973. Yes, I’m now a geezer.
But I think back to the River Shannon fondly. I was a young buck actor in from New York city, starring in a play at the Goodman Theatre, in my hometown. An old pal lived just across the street from the River Shannon and I was crashing there for six weeks.
The River Shannon Irish Pub
I was 26, starring in Sam Shepard’s TOOTH OF CRIME as “Galactic Jack” …and having the time of my life. The River Shannon was my hangout for the run of the play.
When the Echo asked me to check out the big anniversary month of The River Shannon, I was immediately taken back to those halcyon days of yore.
It was the seventies man. I don’t remember any of the bartenders' names now, but I do remember the vibe of the place; a very chill Irish American pub
Opening Day
The lovely and talented Eliza Poznanski is now the savvy Marketing Manager who reached out to the Echo and she is a firecracker. Eliza works with Lodge Management, LMG Entertainment, and they own and manage eight classic Chicago bars, most of them infamous hangouts for Chicago’s hipster community. In addition to The River Shannon they rep “The Redhead Piano Bar," “The Lodge," The Original “Mothers," “She-nanigans” (where my old pal retired copper Jeff Lange was a bouncer), and a handful of other legendary saloons.
Taverns are a tough business as anyone who’s ever owned one will tell you. You gotta deal with lots of drunks and alkies of course and squeezing a dime out of every pint ain’t easy. The hours are long and arduous and every Mickey or Michelle who walks in the door thinks they are an authority on everything, as they will tell you all night long.
Joe Mantegna
I did three years as a pub owner in Rockaway Beach New York - at the “Houli-Dooley” on Rockaway Beach Boulevard and loved/hated every minute of it.
But stepping back into the River Shannon last week was a revelation. It’s in the same location of course, right on the corner of Armitage and Hudson, and feels the same as my youth. It’s a very cozy pub with lots of Irish detail and the most astonishing vibe. I pulled up a stool and it all came back to me.
It’s modest yet legendary, it oozes ambience. I remembered the many nights and early mornings I spent here when it was ten below zero outside and I would sip Irish coffees at the bar and ogle the chickadees.
Eliza tells me: “River Shannon originally opened August 15, 1946, and was the 28th establishment to receive a Chicago liquor license. It’s pretty special. You’re a guest on your first night, after that you’re a regular.”
They’ve been celebrating all month with a variety of gimmicks, honoring couples who met their wives or husbands here, anniversaries, families, even dog walkers stopping by with Fido to sniff around. Eliza says: “We had a regular’s reunion where people from every decade came out and celebrated.”
They don’t serve food but if you’ve got the munchies they will cook you up some frozen pizza. During August they have a deal on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. when Bud Light pints are only eighty cents!
Says Eliza: “We’ve got the original antique hand-crafted Brunswick bar, so this has been here the entire time, the stained glass that you see in some of the windows, the doors, that’s all been preserved, so really it’s like stepping into a time capsule. We’re the place where people come to celebrate milestones.”
On the corner is a street sign that says. “Honorary Joe Mantegna Way”. That’s because the legendary Chicago actor, Tony Award Winner, and David Mamet pal Joe Mantegna once lived in an apartment above The River Shannon. The street was named for Joe in 2017. He recently performed an 80th birthday toast for the tavern. How cool is that?
There is a distinctly palpable Irish vibe to the River Shannon. Many stories have been told here. I asked Eliza if she was familiar with the Irish word for a storyteller, Seanachie. She looked at me blankly. I then asked if she knows what Fáilte means?
She smiled and said, “No, but I know what póg mo thóin means!”
Ah yes, that endearing Irish blessing.
God bless Chicago’s River Shannon Pub; long may they continue to pour.
