Oak Forest's fourth annual Fleadh took over Cicero Avenue Saturday, March 9—with local restaurants and pubs getting in on the fun. Many offered specials, some charged cover, others didn't.
But did a hefty cover charge stop patrons from popping into local spots for a cold one?
One customer told Patch in an email: It sure did.
What a disappointment that many of the local bars had to get greedy and charge a cover charge to get in. I wanted to take a walk down Cicero and stop at each of the bars, have a drink, visit, see if there was someone I knew, and move on. I started at Mrs. O'Brien's (no cover) and had one beer.
Then I walked down to Marcotte's where there were four big guys that looked like gang bangers that wanted $5 to enter. No thanks, why would I pay $5 to go in and have one drink?
I stopped at Taps (no cover) and had one. I walked past Blarney Stone (My daughter told me there was a $10 cover) and decided that it was not worth it for me to go on a "so-called" pub crawl if these greedy merchants were going to take advantage of me. I just walked back home.
One Oak Forest Patch Facebook fan seemed to agree:
Too bad many of the bar owners on Cicero weren’t satisfied with all the extra business that the Fleadh brought in. No, not all of them but some had to get greedy and charge a cover. Wasn’t this supposed to be a pub crawl? Who is going to go from bar to bar and pay a cover at each one? This greed ruined it for me.
The Fleadh seems designed to steer customers into local establishments. But did those who charged cover stop you from stepping inside?
Take our poll!
Roger
1:13 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Went to Oliver's, Jake's, Taps, and Mrs. O'Briens. Why? Because they were free. They were happy enough just to get the food & liquor sales.
Scott Newton
1:35 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
A group of about 12 of us went to Blarney Stone to check it out, heard about the cover and walked out. Was at Marcotte's early enough to beat the cover.
Dutch Oven Chef
1:39 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
I didn't go "fleadh-ing" but if there was a cover I would have kept right on moving to a non-cover bar! You are probably paying the same price per beer with or without the cover charge.
Krista
2:02 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
We were at the Blarney Stone early enough not to have to pay a cover; they handed out bracelets early so if we came back later, we didn't have to pay a cover. I am assuming they charged the cover for the bands they had playing all day/night. That is normal. If I was crawling from pub to pub, I wouldn't want to pay a cover to walk in and have 1 drink and leave, but that's what most establishments have to do to pay for the entertainment.
Tracey D
7:54 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
I didn't bother with any of the bars. I don't support drunken fools at anytime of the year....
Kathy Rogge
8:22 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
yep . . what Krista said
Brian
11:17 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Just curious how does it work in Oak Forest?
In other cities you need a separate Amusement License in addition to a liquor license in order to charge a cover. Are the establishments (Blarney, and ???) in possession of such a license?
phxdr
11:42 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Well first of all I would tell those who did not want to pay the cover charge to not go in the establisment in question. Its called private property and liberty and freedom. This is not something the city needs their noses in as they do not own the properties in question.
Bill Griffin
8:59 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Most bars that have bands also deal with mamangement groups and agree to pay the bands a certain amount. I'm sure they use some of the cover charge to offset that cost, but they make a lot more than what they pay the bands. @phxdr, the city isn;t asking the question, The Patch is, so I don't see where the city comes into this at all. If the city wants to 'suggets' not having cover charges on the day/night of the Fleadh, fine with me. But it is everyone's choice. We didn't go into any OF bars/restaurants that had a cover charge. We have been into some of the other bars because they were free, and discovered that they were pretty cool places andhave returned there during non-Fleadh time. I thought that was the point of the 'Open House' - to show off your place to entice customers to come back.
Baba Wawa
9:24 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
" I thought that was the point of the 'Open House' - to show off your place to entice customers to come back."
Absolutely. Excellent point. Blarney Stone is greedy and a rip-off with their cover charge as well as they have incompetent staff. Wait forever to get a drink and screwed up food orders -- and this was the day after the Fleadh!
carol
10:12 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
I was with a group of 13 and we also wanted to walk up and down cicero and visit every bar but we were not going to pay $15 a person ($195 total) to stop at Blarney Stone or Marcottes for a drink or two. We frequent these bars often and it was a shame we could not enjoy them during the pub crawl.