By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 2 hours ago, Updated 39 minutes ago
McSorley’s Old Ale House is the oldest saloon in New York. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
Nestled since 1854 in Manhattan, McSorley’s Old Ale House has valiantly weathered wars, September 11 and the Covid-19 pandemic.
It experienced the Civil War, two world conflicts, September 11 and Covid-19: the oldest saloon in New York has been standing for 170 years, serving a few beers and burgers, a piece of history of the megalopolis American. The secret of McSorley’s Old Ale House nestled since 1854 in Manhattan’s East Village? “Kill the beer and leave the door open”summarizes his boss Teresa Maher who succeeded her father Matthew Maher in 1994, manager of this New York institution from 1977 until his death in 2020.
“It’s a very well-known little place.”she says, drawing her only two taps, a blonde and a brown, the only alcoholic drinks in this American-Irish pub with a black and green facade which opened seven years before the outbreak of the Civil War (1861- 1865) and was only run by three families. “After 170 years, a lot of people come to see if we’re still there”laughs Teresa Maher, whose motto on the pub’s website is: “We were here before you were born”.
McSorley’s Old Ale House has just celebrated its 170th anniversary with cakes and songs, also celebrating like many New York bars, restaurants and cafes the fact of having held on despite the Covid-19 pandemic from which the city is recovering. In 2020, the municipality imposed draconian health rules forcing establishments to sell takeout or serve on terraces hastily set up on the sidewalks. One in 25 food businesses has disappeared, in particular due to the dizzying rise in commercial lease prices after the pandemic, according to a 2022 report.
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“No women”
“We own the walls, which protects us for the moment”hopes Teresa Maher who applies another historic commandment in America to her clients: «Be good or be gone» (“Be nice or leave”). Unthinkable today, another old saloon motto boasted until 1970 “good beer, onions and… no women”before McSorley’s Old Ale House was legally forced to accept both sexes.
The place is rustic and the decor has barely changed since the beginning of the 20th century. The floor is old and covered in sawdust. The food and drinks menu is limited to burgers/fries, hot dogs, a few sandwiches including the famous liver pâté, two beers and three sodas. The prices are much lower than any New York estaminet. Which explains why regular consumers, curious people and tourists continue to push open the saloon’s swing doors.
Turkey in 1917
One of his oldest customers is 93-year-old retired firefighter Mike Rousso, whose No. 6 helmet hangs on the bar’s wall. McSorley’s Old Ale House is also proud of its close ties with the New York firefighters, police and military. With its moments of History.
In 1917, before being deployed to Europe during World War I, men of the 69th New York Infantry left with turkey prepared by their families in the restaurant’s kitchens. And the pub is only three kilometers from the site of the World Trade Center, whose two twin towers were destroyed by planes rushed by the jihadist group Al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.
“It’s crazy here for the September 11 commemoration”, confides one of the regulars, Phil Lavigne, a retired police officer. And the next generation is already assured: Sebastian Maher, 19 years old, “look at what (his) mother does and of course want to lead one day” McSorley’s Old Ale House.
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2024-02-25 10:05:33
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