Up for sale, McGinnity’s Restaurant celebrates what could be one last St. Patrick’s Day

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — One of Rochester’s most loved Irish restaurants is up for sale.

McGinnity’s first opened its doors back in September of 1975, and over the next 48 years, the family behind the bar built a loyal following that keeps coming back to this very day.

“You know, it’s time for a new chapter in all our lives,” said Maggie McGinnity Fitzgibbon.

When Seamus McGinnity and his wife Bridie first opened their place on West Ridge Road back in the mid 1970s, little did they know that it would become so beloved in Rochester.

Customers like Ron Boyce have been coming in for decades.

“My parents used to come here after bowling. They both worked at Kodak, and then as I became of age I started coming here, and it’s like a home away from home. I’ve made lifelong friends,” said Boyce.

After Seamus died, Bridie and her children took over the business. McGinnity Fitzgibbon and her brothers grew up in the place.

“Over time, we would do odd jobs for mom and dad as needed, and then as we got older, we worked in the kitchen. We worked, you know, as a bus person. We waited tables, and then, you know, we worked behind the bar, and that’s when we learned a lot of people skills when we worked behind the bar,” McGinnity Fitzgibbon.

The family creating that perfect atmosphere for their customers who are an extension of their family.

“They do like it. They do feel at home. I’ve had this said to me hundreds of times: ‘This is our home. Where are we going to go if you’re not here?'” said McGinnity.

Most come for the beer, others come for the food. Especially on St. Patrick’s Day.

“They love it. They love the Guinness. They love the food. They like the corned beef, and they come back for our corned beef,” said McGinnity.

McGinnity Fitzgibbon says the selling of the business is bittersweet.

“It’s time for mom, who will be 85 this month. It’s time for her to rest and not feel the pressures of managing a business and all that it entails,” said McGinnity Fitzgibbon

Longtime customer and employee Dan Magin sums it all up.

“Bridie has done a great job, but it’s time, and it’s time to move on. I’d love to see the bar stay but without Bridie I’m not sure that it would be the same,” said Magin.

On St. Patrick’s Day, McGinnity’s will be open for traditional Irish dinners starting at 10 a.m.