This month's edition of Philadelphia Magazine featured a rather one-sided puff piece on a bar owner who, as head of the "West Chester Restaurant Association", could very well be considered in the center of the ongoing feud between liquor licensees in the borough and borough government itself.
William David Magrogan, the owner of Kildare's on West Gay Street and Doc Magrogan's Oyster House on East Gay Street, was profiled in the publication's "Entreprenurs" section under the headline "Irish Guy Is Smiling." (The article itself has not been posted on the magazine's web site. - ed) While it can't stop singing the praises of Magrogan, it doesn't exactly put certain aspects of the borough government - namely the police department and the codes enforcement department - in an entirely positive light.
The start of the article notes how on St. Patrick's Day, Magrogan went to all six of his Kildare's locations in the region, acting more like an egomanical celebrity as opposed to a resepctable business owner. (Rather than waste my time promoting the entire article, enclosed in this posting are the relevant (for the purposes of this post) passages that should get the point across:
St. Patrick's Day is heading into its 15th hour for Dave Magrogan when he arrives at the West Chester Kildare's, for what is scheduled to be his final most relaxing stop. ...
This bar ... is the one he considers his baby. It was his first. It's where most of his hangers-on and good friends congregate. It's where he can pretty safely get hammered and not feel like he's abusing his power too much. ...
And by 12:30 a.m., everything is in full swing here in West Chester. Magroifan is never without a Guiness the whole time he's here, and even throws down a few of his own "Car Bombs" (emphasis added - ed). ...
I don't know too many liquor license holders who would be willing to admit to a major regional publication to getting drunk while on location at his/her own bar.
Then, right in the middle of the drunken revelry, Kildare's is invaded by local police decked out in blue nylon jackets and shining their flashlights. In tow is notorious zoning stickler Mike Perrone, who's there to shuffle the rowdy crowd out into the parking lot (sic), hoping that most (if not all) of them will end the night early because the bar is "over capacity," according to the borough's zoning laws. It's the ultimate buzz kill.
Some of the revelers do leave. Most don't. And 30 minutes later, after arguing in the cops out in the parking lot (sic), 90 percent of the crowd is back inside. Magrogan stands in the middle of the stage with the punky Irish band Hit the Bottle Boys, microphone in hand, apologizing to the crowd for the inconvenience. And then he unloads:
"F*** Mike Perrone!"
It becomes a deafening chant, and the Bottle Boys begin a farmer-in-the-Dell like melody to go along with it. "F*** Mike Perrone. ... F*** Mike Perrone. ... F*** Mike Perrone."
I'm sure Mike Perrone was thrilled when he found out Magrogan's reponse to the fact that Mr. Perrone was enforcing the ordinances on the books. I'm sure the WCPD brass also took exception to the way that the officers on scene were portrayed in the article. Incidentially, a summary trial is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16 at District Court 15-1-01 in regards to the exact incident highlighted in the article (15-1-01; NT-0000333-07).
When the din dies down, Magrogan points out that Perrone (or "that f****ing guy") cost him about $5,000 in bar money. But he's not bitching about it. He probably earned most of it back by firing the crowd up afterward.
More on Magrogan's lust for money later in this post...
He grabs his Guinness, stands on top of a table, and watches the crowd, his crowd now, and he's beaming, because he loves a challenge. Loves it. And though this stoppage of play could've derailed many a bar, Magrogan perservered. ...
Now if any Joe Schmoe patron tried to do that, he'd likely be flagged and arrested...
This is why Philadelphia's pseudo-celebs ... adore him. And this is why, no matter how audacious and successful he becomes - you can't not like him.
Wanna bet?
When Magrogan came before Borough Council in December 2005 to transfer a liquor license into the borough for Doc Magrogan's, he made the following statement (which is on the record on pages 48 and 49 of the official transcript of the hearing, which is available for review in the Borough Manager's office) after a question raised by Planning Commission chair and former 2nd Ward Councilmember Diane LeBold regarding drink specials:
If i can refer back to the West Chester restaurant association agreement that I put together, I am one of the few restaurants still charging $3.oo on Thursday nights, an I'm losing $2,000 every Thursday night because of how much I care about West Chester. So I have made a serious commitment. ...
When my competitor across the street is selling things at $2.00, and they have five units and I have five units, I'm willing to take a $2,000 hit. I've lost as much as $3,000 a night on a Thursday night because I made a commitment to this town and I followed through on that. I founded the idea of raising the price on Thursday nights because of drunk college kids to $3.00. And there is a few of us restaurants that have stayed on that.
... (R)ight now the most popular beer in town in Eastern Pennsylvania is Miller LIte, and there are people right, there are people in this town selling $2.00 Miller Lites, dollar Miller Lites, Miller Lite, Miller Lite, Miller Lite, to do whatever they can to get the college kids in.
Really? All one has to do is look at the Kiladre's web site and ask a simple question:
Was he lying then, or is he lying now?
This beer deal on Thursday nights - the same Thursday night promtions that Magrogan condemned in front of Borough Council 17 months ago - have been going on for at least two to three months now. And, maybe I'm a little naive, but I don't know how a disc jockey who in one flyer promotes playing "Great Party Dance Music & Hip Hop" (sic) contributes to the "authentic Irish experience" that Kildare's allegedly promotes. Again, I don't recall my grandparents - who were from County Mayo in the central part of Ireland - ever making references to 50 Cent being part of the pub scene in Castlebar...
So, where exactly is the commitment to West Chester that Magrogan promised - on a public record for inspection in the Borough Manager's office, no less - to referain from attracting "drunk college kids" to his supposedly upscale establishment?
The rest of the article goes on to tell Magrogan's life story, which to me, is about as interesting as watching paint dry. It does note that the Kildaire's empire has grossed more than $21 million in revenue this past year. You wonder why he's concerned about a 10 percent per drink tax that the borough is trying to get legislative authorization for.
The article also conveniently forgets to mention that Kildare's was cited by the Borough Public Works department for "Actions Which Constitute a Public Nuisance" last September (15-1-01; NT-0000955-06); was cited for its role in allowing a local version of "Girls Gone Wild" to take place last February; had a major brawl involving several intoxicated patrons occur about 3 years ago; and that Doc Magrogan's was recently cited for safety violations, also on St. Patrick's Day (15-1-04; NT-0000553-07), in which the establishment was convicted of "Means of Egress Shall be free from obstructions" on May 3 and paid $555.64 in fines and costs.
But, hey, what's covering up indescretions among friends, right? I hope the people of Warrington Township in Bucks County know what they're getting into by allowing a Kildare's in that town.
If William David Magrogan is the "lead spokesman" for restaurants in West Chester, then what does it say about the Restaurant Association?
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