“If there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it just may be the personal property of local public-house owners Molly and McGuire.”
—Southern Host of Pensacola
“The best pub in the South, maybe the nation."
—Robert Tolf, Florida Trend
McGuire and Molly Martin opened McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola, Florida, in 1977. Since then, the pub has moved locations, increased in size, and gained an international following thanks to the dedication and hard work of its owners. The Martins opened a second location in Destin, Florida, in 1996.
At first, the Martins did not even have a phone in their home because they only left the pub to sleep. The rest of those long, early days consisted of many hours of hard work and the wearing of many hats. When McGuire wasn’t in the kitchen, he was keeping the books. Molly kept busy doing a little bit of everything, including something she had never done before: waitressing.
When Molly earned her first dollar tip, she began a McGuire’s tradition that has evolved into the stuff of legend. She signed that dollar and hung it on the wall. Today, McGuire’s counts more than one million dollar bills, all signed and donated by patrons, on its walls and ceilings! The prosperity of McGuire’s Irish Pub has been simply phenomenal. Its cuisine, microbrewery, and wine cellar have all earned awards. This success is not surprising, however, after taking a closer look at the couple who started it all.
Both Molly and McGuire have Irish blood running through their veins. As if that’s not enough, McGuire’s grandmother ran an Irish saloon in Philadelphia, and his father owned a steakhouse in south New Jersey. Obviously, he learned more than a wee bit from his relatives. Molly, on the other hand, has always had an outgoing, social nature, and she exudes a typical Irish warmth. Her lovely singing voice has also provided live entertainment at McGuire’s on many a night, with emotional renditions of classics including “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”
McGuire's Irish Pub Cookbook is yet another dream come true for this Celtic couple blessed with the luck of the Irish.