Inside the new-look Kelly’s Logan House, led by a new generation for its 160th Anniversary
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Kelly's Logan House may be honoring its past this weekend with a two-day 160th anniversary party kicking off Friday, but it comes as a string of changes have provided the legendary bar with a shot in the arm.
Two years after the death of owner Michael P. "Mike" Kelly Jr., his son Michael Patrick "Pat" Kelly Jr., 29, and daughter Joanna Kelly, 32, are starting to put their imprint on what is believed to be the oldest continuously family-owned Irish tavern in America.
While they have been busy implementing changes in recent months at the former Wilmington hotel built in 1864 , they also have been planning the bar's first anniversary celebration without their father at the helm in decades.
"We're following his blueprint and just tweaking it here and there. It always worked out well for him so if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Pat Kelly says of the anniversary, which will include a ceremony early Saturday afternoon with special guests.
But when it comes to running the bar day-to-day, there has been some fixing. The Kelly siblings have ushered in a batch of updates in recent months to reinvigorate the historic corner bar on the edge of the city's Forty Acres neighborhood.
"We're trying to channel what he would do ― trying to have a bar that still lives up to the image he wanted it to be," Pat Kelly says. "That's still the driving force for me in how I handle my business here."
WAVE OF CHANGES & UPDATES AHEAD OF ANNIVERSARY
From the Logan House's leadership to its menu and even its look, the Kellys have been busy making moves over the past year or so.
New general manager Dan Dougherty took over in August, a few months after the Kellys brought in Highwater Management to consult with them on operations for the bar.
Neither of the Kelly kids ― the fifth generation of the family to operate the bar since the Kelly family purchased it in 1889 ― had experience running a bar aside from growing up around the Logan House and watching their father and aunt, Mary Ann Kelly MacDonald, during their ownership tenure.
Highwater, a Rehoboth Beach-based food service management company, is a sister company of the Scott Kammerer-led SoDel Concepts restaurant group, which operates a string of Delaware restaurants at the beach: Matt's Fish Camp, Bluecoast, Papa Grandes, Fish On, Lupo Italian Kitchen, Crust & Craft and more.
They have helped implement a system for ordering for both the bar and kitchen, as well as helped streamline and enhance the menu from retained Logan House chef Nelson Cotto-Hill. The newest addition of house-made potato and cheese empanadas with beef or chicken have proved to be fast-seller.
In addition, the downstairs main bar was refurbished with a newly painted ceiling and walls, which were also repaired in damaged areas. The top of the main bar also was refinished.
Out back, a new deck was built ― slightly larger and more elevated, with a few updates to the outdoor tiki bar.
And when it comes to music, happy hour acoustic sets have been added on Thursdays downstairs, and the business will retain late night DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. Upstairs still features a mix of cover bands and local original rock acts on the last two Fridays of each month, curated by Wilmington musician Pete Romano (Von Holden, STRVWMVN).
Dougherty's love of jam bands has bled through into Logan House's bookings already with more jam-orientated acts, including Grateful Dead-centric acts such as Newark's Wings a Mile Long and Wilmington-based favorites Bones Brigade, which packed the room last month and return on Friday, Jan. 3.
Ticketed shows for touring, out-of-town performers will be coming back, as well.
Three already are on the books, including a solo show by guitarist John Kadlecik(Further, Dark Star Orchestra, Melvin Seals & JGB) on Saturday, Jan. 4; Doom Dogs on Saturday, Jan. 11 with guitarist Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie, The Cure) leading the improvisational trio; and a Saturday, Feb. 1 performance by Panama Dead, a tribute to the New Riders of The Purple Sage by Ronnie Penque, who has been bassist for New Riders since 2005. Tickets for all shows are available at loganhouse.com.
"It's starting to feel like the Logan House I remember with something going on there all time," Dougherty says. "I want to utilize the space and capitalize on our uniqueness to help bring people in again."
SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND MENU
In addition to the revamped everyday Logan House menu, a few specials will make their way out of the kitchen for the anniversary weekend.
They include slow-cooked-in-Guinness corned beef brisket with sautéed cabbage and mashed potatoes, along with bangers and mash: four traditional Irish sausages served with a side of mashed potatoes and topped with bacon jam.
Also, Irish pub nachos made with house-made potato chips topped with Guinness beer cheese, bacon bits and scallions, along with traditional boxty Irish potato pancakes, deep-fried and filled with cheddar cheese.
And to fill out the not-too-surprisingly-potato-heavy specials menu, baked potatoes, served with a side of coleslaw, will be offered: regular with butter, loaded with cheddar cheese and bacon bits or Irish-style topped with corned beef brisket and drizzled with Guinness beer cheese.
ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND MUSICAL ACTS
Five musical acts will be going strong both upstairs and downstairs on Friday and Saturday as part of the festivities.
And just like usual, it will be a mix of live bands and DJs giving a little something for everyone.
On Friday, acoustic duo Kris V. and Richie D. will perform downstairs from 6 to 9 p.m. ahead of a downstairs party led by DJ Niknax from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Upstairs, cover act Cherry Crush will headline from 10 p.m. to close.
On Saturday, local rockabilly legends The Bullets go on at 9 p.m. (doors open at 8 p.m.) with DJ Kardiair downstairs from 10 p.m. to close.
