After a quarter-century of running a bar in Hell's Kitchen, Brian Connell and his business partner Tony Doyle are opening up at Dolly's Hideaway, a renovated pub space below the Dolly Varden cocktail bar on W51st Street at Eighth Avenue. We're “going back to basics.” The Hideaway opened earlier this month, just days before the couple celebrated their 25th anniversary.
Dolly's Hideaway is located in the same basement where Connell and Doyle opened their first pub, BB Doyle's. From 1999 she operated until 2006, when it was renamed House of Brews and later renamed Dolly Varden. Today, visitors are greeted by a yellow neon sign written in cursive behind pulled back red curtains. The decor inside is retro, with walls lined with her early 20th century cameras, books, and bottles. It's comfortable, but doesn't feel cramped.
A lot has happened in 25 years, but “I think the fundamentals are the same,” Connell said. “And that's what we're trying to do here: get back to what we used to call the holy trinity of an Irish pub back then: good food, good drinks, and good service.” Connell and Doyle in 1993 while working at the Irish Pub (now known as P. McDay's Irish Pub) on Seventh Avenue between W54th and W53rd Streets, then owned by Connell's uncle. I've been obsessed with Hell's Kitchen ever since I discovered it.
Connell had just arrived in New York from Dublin, Ireland, and had never worked in a bar before. Connell said he and Doyle, who has been bartending for 10 years, decided to “figure out how to work for ourselves instead of working for other people,” and six years later they started the business. The two competed for him to open BB Doyle's by March 10, 1999, in time for St. Patrick's Day. “We were busy. We had a lot of fun,” Connell recalled. The two now own seven properties, his four in Hell's Kitchen and his three in Astoria.
However, the past 25 years have not all been smooth sailing, due in part to health and safety restrictions caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that began in 2020. Connell and Doyle had to learn the hard way to let go of parts of their hearts. Businesses like Peachy Keen, which opened in spring 2022 and then closed.
The 5,000-square-foot '70s-style diner is a redesign of the New York Beer Company, a sports bar that once relied on corporate groups of up to 300 people to stay open. Those customers didn't return after the pandemic, and Connell and Doyle ultimately decided to let go of the space, but Connell added that they plan to return soon under new ownership.
“We've bitten off more than we can chew,” Connell said. “We grew so fast and tried too hard to save all our places when we shouldn't have.” He added, “The lesson is now is the time to govern.” “It's time, it's time to govern. I think we're still feeling the effects of the pandemic,” he added.
Over the past 25 years, the two have learned to adapt to the region and embrace change. Connell and Doyle had no intention of opening multiple bars, but when the opportunity presented itself, they took it.
When they were approached by the Related Company, the developer of Hudson Yards, to open a pub at W. 30th Street and 10th Avenue, they discovered that it was the terminus of a local passenger train called the Dolly Varden. Knew. Although the project with Related never materialized, it led to the renovation of the House of Brews into Dolly Varden. The restaurant opened in spring 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and now has a railroad-themed outdoor dining structure. It is also the name of a fictional character in a Dickens novel who influenced women's fashion in the mid-19th century.
Connell said his pubs on W 51st Street – BB Doyle's, The House of Brews, Dolly Varden and Dolly's Hideaway – have had close ties to the Hell's Kitchen community. This includes the adjacent Gershwin Theatre, home to musicals. Evil For almost 20 years, and for a short time, it hosted Irish music and dance shows. riverdance.
“We had great relationships with stagehands, cast and crew whenever we had an event or a party. It was very, very good for us,” he said.
Agne Gilliland, who has been a bartender at Dolly Varden since November, said she is excited about the renovation. “It definitely had more of a high-cocktail vibe before, but now it's a little more of a local bar for people who live in the neighborhood, and that's what we needed,” she said. “We have a really great clientele. It's like a great place for New Yorkers to get out of work, have a few drinks, chill and go home.”
For the first time in about five years, Connell feels good about the future. “We've been in business for 25 years. The first 20 years were great, the last five years were the worst,” he said. “So I think we're optimistic right now and feeling good about business for the first time in a while. We lost some restaurants, but we're okay.”
Connell added: “I think my philosophy at this point is that we've come this far. We're taking one step at a time, one day at a time.”
