Weird start for O.B. bar under new ownership

On April 28, Eugene Gallagher hosted a farewell party at his Newport Avenue pub. The next day, after 11 years, he handed over the keys to new owner Steve Yeng, a local who also owns the O.B. Noodle House and Bar 1502.

On April 29, Rachelle Ryder (not her real name) and two female friends parked in front of Gallagher’s sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. “We saw some people at the door,” said Ryder. “I’d never been to Gallagher’s before so I couldn’t tell if they were open or closed. I asked this guy at the window and he waved us in.”

What they found once they got inside was one slow Friday with less than ten people.

“We were confused as we sat down because some of the guys that we assumed were bartenders started talking to us,” said Ryder. “Then a few of them started singing this song, repeating the same lyric over and over: ‘tits for the boys.’ Then all six of them joined in singing the same song and feeding us some of the shittiest drinks I’ve ever tasted. One guy even stuck his finger in our drinks. This is when I decided that none of the guys were actually bartenders.”

About 15 minutes later, Ryder said four other girls were let into the bar.

“Things continued to get weirder and weirder,” said Ryder, “when they brought out some Gallagher’s T-shirts and started screaming at us, ‘First boob out gets a free shirt!’

“It was at this point that it felt like everything was taking a bad turn, so we finished our drinks so we could leave. The whole time they just kept singing at us to show our tits. Then all of a sudden, one of the guys kicked all us girls out. I gave one of the guys my credit card to pay for the drinks but he just threw it back at me and instead tried to give us more drinks. I just wanted to pay and get out of there….

“As we left, one of them started screaming at us to not come back without our areola…. It was literally the most uncomfortable experience of my life. We next headed to Sunshine [Company] for a couple of drinks. When we came out 45 minutes later, we saw tons of people at Gallagher’s.”

When shown some photos from April 30 at Gallagher’s under the new ownership, Ryder said some of the guys in the photos were there on April 29.

On May 2, I spoke with Mark of O.B. Noodle House/Bar 1502 about the incident. “I talked to the guys that were there,” he said. “A couple of guys went over to Gallagher’s earlier that day to clean it up. They started drinking and inviting friends and coworkers.”

As far as the incident with Ryder, he said, “I find it hard to believe. We did kick people out of there that didn’t belong. A friend of theirs came in that wasn’t allowed by saying that her friends were inside. I think they made the whole thing up. Also, the police stopped by that night to question the guys about what had happened.”

Mark also indicated that the guys who were there that night were disciplined by the owner.

Ryder said, “I got a call from Steve [owner of O.B. Noodle House], he apologized profusely for that night and offered free visits to O.B. Noodle for me and my friends. I also heard it through the grapevine that one of the guys got fired or suspended pending termination. The one they fired wasn’t even the one that was making all of the titty comments.”

What’s planned for Gallagher’s future? “I’m not sure,” Mark said. “I think we’re going to run it as Gallagher’s through the summer and then do a remodel. We're also going to try some new bands and move toward more reggae music.” When it comes to a new name, “The Holding Company” is one possibility being kicked around.