No Blarney: Irish-Themed Outdoor Dining Comes to Sea Isle

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI One sign points you in the direction of the coastal town of Clifden. Another sign points the way to the village of Frosses. Clifden? Frosses? Are they located at the Jersey Shore? Not exactly. Don’t feel too bad if you’re clueless about those towns. Unless you’ve visited Ireland. Quaint pseudo directional signs for Clifden, Frosses and other Irish towns are among the whimsical touches customers will find at Paddy’s Green, the new outdoor dining area at O’Donnell’s Pour House, the Irish-themed restaurant and pub in downtown Sea Isle City. O’Donnell’s has become the latest restaurant in Sea Isle to add outdoor dining as a way to attract customers during the coronavirus pandemic. Occupying the corner of 39th Street and Landis Avenue, Paddy’s Green is covered by a large tent and includes artificial turf as the surface. Yellow umbrellas and tables are safely spaced apart to comply with social distancing guidelines. “People are absolutely in love with this area. They really appreciate that we’ve expanded the seating for social distancing. It’s a big, open space that they really like,” Ralph Pasceri, one of the owners of O’Donnell’s Pour House, said in an interview Friday. The outdoor dining area is located at the corner of 39th Street and Landis Avenue. (Courtesy of O'Donnell's Pour House) The outdoor dining area could handle well over 200 seats, but a smaller number will actually be available in order to accommodate social distancing, Pasceri explained. “To make sure we keep our food and service up to the O’Donnell’s standard that everyone has come to expect, we’re limiting dining tables and have some cocktails-only tables available, too,” he said. Restaurants throughout New Jersey are adding al fresco dining to accommodate their customers during the pandemic. Although Gov. Phil Murphy has given restaurants permission to have outdoor dining, he has not yet announced when they will be able to open indoors amid lingering concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. O’Donnell’s owners, Ralph Pasceri and his brother, Pat, and their business partner, Michael Roberts, quickly adapted by demolishing an old house they had acquired next to the restaurant and converting the space for outdoor dining. “Last summer, we purchased the property and had progressed through the concept and engineering stages of a slightly different plan that would have debuted summer 2021. When we realized that the COVID-19 pandemic would most certainly impact our ability to serve inside our restaurant this summer, we went back to the drawing board and revised the plan for quick execution,” Ralph Pasceri said. Whimsical directional signs that are part of the decor point the way to towns in Ireland. Paddy’s Green made its formal debut July 11. Pasceri credited O’Donnell’s “remarkable team” of designers, engineers and contractors for expediting the project from the demolition of the old house to the grand opening in just six weeks. “We couldn’t be happier at how Paddy’s Green turned out,” he said. “It is great to see the staff buzzing about making customers happy. We feel like summer’s finally come for O’Donnell’s Pour House.” The decor, landscaping, lighting and 3-foot-high fence surrounding Paddy’s Green give it a more upscale atmosphere than typically found at outdoor dining areas at other restaurants. “We really believe in doing things the right way,” Pasceri said. “We have a reputation in the city for doing things the right way and in a first-class manner. We always want to do something that will make the city proud. It’s just good for business.” Ralph and Pat Paceri and Roberts are also the owners of the Ocean Drive, the iconic bar and nightclub on Landis Avenue next door to O’Donnell’s Pour House. Paddy’s Green has a sign on the wall paying tribute to Pete and Rose Dogliotti, the former owners of the Ocean Drive, known affectionately in town as the “OD.” Pete and Rose’s daughters, Angela and Tina, sold the old house to the Pasceri brothers and Roberts that was torn down to create the new outdoor dining space at O’Donnell’s. Umbrellas and tables are spaced apart to meet social distancing guidelines. (Courtesy of O'Donnell's Pour House) O’Donnell’s also has its original outdoor dining area. The restaurant accepts reservations for the original outside dining area, but tables at Paddy’s Green are on a first come, first served basis. Outdoor dining begins at 4:30 p.m. daily, with seating for dinner until 9:30 p.m. The bar closes at 11:30 p.m. Pasceri said O’Donnell’s will be adding live music at Paddy’s Green as the summer progresses. A number of special events are in the offing for Labor Day or into the fall. Paddy’s Green will remain a part of O’Donnell’s at least through the summer of 2021. Pasceri noted that the pandemic has made it difficult to make long-range plans with any certainty. “The way the world is right now, it’s hard to even think about the beginning of next week,” he said. For more information on O’Donnell’s Pour House, visit http://odonnellspourhouse.com/ or call (609) 263-5600. O'Donnell's Pour House is a fixture on Landis Avenue in downtown Sea Isle City.