Out of money and hope, owner of iconic Irish pubs in Honolulu closing for good

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    Honolulu, HI (KITV ) — The owners of four Irish pubs in Honolulu threw in the towel on Friday after shutting down operations more than two months ago because of COVID-19.

Those establishments are now closed.

“We cannot reopen, we’re going to close and we’re gone. We’re done. And nobody else is going to come into that operation because they know the government will shut them down,” said Bill Comerford, head of the Hawaii Bar Owners Association and one of the partners of Anna O’Brien’s, Kelley O’Neil’s, Irish Rose Saloon and O’Toole’s.

After more than 30 years in the business, it’s last call for Comerford, who says they’re not renewing their current liquor licenses when they expire on June 30th.

He claims he is out of money and hope and believes what killed his livelihood is silence from the government.

“I can’t get anybody to respond, they’re all sitting on their hands, nobody knows,” Comerford said.

In a last ditch cry for help, Comerford organized a protest with members of the Hawaii Bar Owners Association at the State Capitol on Friday.

“They are afraid of our bars and they don’t want to open because they think we can’t behave. What I’m trying to do is I get people down here to show that our group can behave,” Comerford said.

Owners claim they’re burdened with high costs of labor, land and liability insurance, especially in resort areas like Waikiki.

“Why are we not essential because if you talk about the tax basis, we’re huge in that way because we pay taxes. Every one of my employees I’m paying probably close to $1.5 million in wages, all those employees are paying state income tax as well, but they’re not paying it now,” Comerford said.

Patrons of Legends Sports Bar in Waikiki call watering holes “essential businesses,” because they employ thousands of locals and contribute to the economy.

“A restaurant can serve alcohol but a bar cannot because it’s a different establishment. That’s not fair,” Ike Eisenhower from Waikiki said.

“We are focusing on opening it safely trying to encourage to follow safety standards with masks and everything. We can’t keep them closed for how long,” Peeyush Pandey of Waikiki said.

Some of the people protesting on Friday believe economic health should be as important as public health.

One suggestion is to reopen for kama’aina, allowing business owners to recoup money and restore confidence.

They can’t save everyone, but at least they should get a shot.

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