LET’S TAKE THIS OUTSIDE: Beloved Barnegat pub Doyle’s Pour House has been a neighborhood gem for well over a decade. Patrons will soon have the option to enjoy the same friendly atmosphere outdoors, weather permitting. (Photo by Jack Reynolds)
A local favorite mainland pub is moving operations outside for an al fresco dining experience. Barnegat Doyle’s Pour House will soon boast a sprawling open-air pavilion and outdoor bar, accompanied by live afternoon entertainment on selected days.
In 2005, Brion Magnani founded Doyle’s Pour House in Tuckerton, hoping to cultivate the same sense of community he saw in the pubs of Ireland. A few years later, he would build a second Doyle’s, in downtown Barnegat with partners Mike Flanagan, James “Smitty” Smith and, later, Pete Fabian.
Both locations, designed with long bench-style seating in order to facilitate a friendly atmosphere, certainly lived up to Magnani’s Ireland-inspired vision of the local pub. In fact, even through the pandemic, Doyle’s thrived on the loyalty of its patrons.
When it was time for a change, two loyal patrons purchased the Tuckerton location, expanding the business with a massive patio and bringing on live music. Meanwhile, Fabian had bought out his partners’ shares of the Barnegat location, but in 2022, Flanagan would buy it back, and has since wasted no time in dreaming up a similar expansion and entertainment offerings.
“Now I’m back where I belong, in Barnegat, and it’s been great,” Flanagan shared, enjoying the process of building onto the community gem.
“Brion started something really nice back in 2005,” he said. “I always wanted to be moving forward, and not everybody shared my vision as a collective. Now that it’s just me, I have more freedom to do some of these things I’ve always wanted to do.”
One of the first orders of business was bringing live music back to the pub. Thursday nights are reserved for mellow solo acts, while full bands liven things up on Fridays and Saturdays.
There are also twice-weekly rotating food specials. Fresh fruit and vegetable infusions are the highlight of weekly drink specials, cultivated by bartending mastermind Kate Arthur.
Having achieved that, Flanagan’s ready to push forward with an outdoor expansion.
The project has been underway since May, with weather throwing a wrench in the gears all summerlong, but patrons may have noticed more action happening outside lately, with a 10- by 10- foot shed recently erected against an open 24- by 40- foot, hand-crafted Amish pavilion. In addition to a full-size bar, most of the tables from out in front of the establishment will be relocated to the pavilion and, in time, the front patio will be furnished with new tables to further expand seating options.
While the expansion will mean sacrificing 14 parking spots, Flanagan assured that there will still be well over 80 spots for parking. Staff members will park a little farther away in order to accommodate guests. Patrons can make matters even better by carpooling or traveling by bike (considering the nearby rail trail runs all the way into Forked River).
“It’s all starting to shape up now,” Flanagan was pleased to report. After a rainy spring and a stormy summer, he is hopeful for sunny forecasts so he can finish construction and have the area landscaped.
The outdoor bar and pavilion will be open – again, weather permitting – from noon until dusk until the colder season sets in, and will operate like a traditional biergarten. See a bartender, place an order, take a number and have a seat. The bar will be stocked with the necessities. Two bartenders will be set up and slinging basic cocktails and canned beers, poured into plastic cups for safety purposes.
Guests can also order from a limited bar menu. Although full entrées will not be served outside, all the Doyle’s famous bar bites, such as its wings (ordered “back on the grill,” of course) will be available outside.
Arthur will even design a funky cocktail special specifically for the outdoor bar every weekend.
And, of course, there will be music. Look forward to low-key afternoon performances to complete the summer vibe.
But what if it rains? The pub will still be rocking and rolling all summer, with live music and weekly specials, including a brand-new brunch service from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday.
Check out doylespourhousebarnegat.com or @DoylesBarnegat on Facebook and Instagram, to stay hip to all the happenings.
— Monique M. Demopoulos