August 31, 2006 Issue                                       

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

McNally’s, where everybody knows your name
by MARY PRICE LEE
AND RICHARD S. LEE

A scene from McNally’s Tavern shortly after it opened to the public in 1921

On entering McNally’s, the green-doored institution with the little brass plaque at 8634 Germantown Ave., one gets the cozy feeling of a neighborhood bar. But it is far more than that. This wood-paneled comfort zone with its checked-cloth tables and wood bar seats 50, more or less, and seemingly has not changed in years. The rafters, festooned with past customers’ beer mugs, appear to have been there forever — but rafters and mugs actually date from a major 1960s’ renovation when the old pressed tin ceiling was replaced. Some mugs are still used; these are kept behind the bar.

But the ‘unchanged forever’ atmosphere is really not the case. Since being extensively reported in the Local in honor of its 75th anniversary, McNally’s has changed in many ways — if little in appearance — in the intervening decade. (Yes, it will be 85 this fall.)

Anne McNally and her sister, Meg, are at the helm, the fourth generation of McNallys to operate the bar-restaurant. Anne has been in charge since 1979. Meg, a.k.a. Aunt Moo, who has baked for the tavern for 20 years, joined sister Anne full-time two years ago. “We have an easy commute to work,” says Anne. “We all live in the neighborhood, so we walk.”

Another major change occurred eight years ago this past Fourth of July, when they decided to go non-smoking. Anne’s father, Hugh, and her uncle Arthur were for it; Anne was pregnant, not feeling too well and concerned that the idea was a bad one. After all, McNally’s was far more a bar in those days, and only the second bar in Pennsylvania to go non-smoking. The first, in Carlisle, later regretted the switch and reverted to smoking. McNally’s made the change over the four-day July 4 holiday. Net result: they gained far more business than they lost; the non-smoking policy powered an increase in family business, especially on weekends, and sparked the move to the lighter alcoholic beverages that prevail today. “In fact,” Anne says, “we don’t sell much beer at lunch any more. We sell more iced tea today than we ever imagined; we brew it ahead, it’s so popular.”

The menu has changed, too. Of the typical bar food selection of burgers and fries or hot dogs, only burgers prevail — not a fry or a dog to be found! Today’s McNally’s boasts a varied menu — from soups to nuts (if you count salad walnuts). The signature dishes on the standing menu include the George Bernard Shaw, a sandwich incorporating three cheeses melted atop green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and lettuce, topped with special dressing on a Kaiser roll. (We think Shaw would have approved; he was a vegetarian.)

Other standing menu items include home-made soups, generous salads, hot sandwiches such as the Peter Rabbit — grilled salami with provolone cheese and hot mustard. (Where is the bunny’s trademark nibble food, lettuce? Certainly not to be found there, or in Rabbit Carrot Cake.)

For everyone’s convenience, the standing menu is the same for lunch, dinner or evening snacks (McNally’s closes at 11 p.m.) The highest-priced item: a double chicken cheese steak on a long roll for $8.25.

There is also a menu of daily soup and lunch specials, planned and printed ahead for each month. In Anne’s father’s and uncle’s 12 years at the helm, McNally’s was content with one salad. Now there are five, including a Chef’s Salad that just won’t quit. Though not a haven of tofu and bean sprout-style trendiness, their menu offers generosity, quality, variety, economy, and ample healthy choices.

Some things, however, never change. Their famous (and copyrighted) Schmitter sandwich is one. It was named not for Mike Schmidt but for Schmidt’s Beer, last brewed in 1987, which gives you an idea of how long the sandwich has been around. Of course, it’s incomparable when made at McNally’s. But now, McNally’s staffers at Citizens’ Bank Park make, package and sell 500 to 800 Schmitters a night for ARAMARK (the food vendor) during Phillies’ home games. They also make and sell Schmitters during Eagles games at Lincoln Financial Field. The caloric and fat content spelled out on the package label places this delight within range of the prudent eater despite its description: sliced steak grilled with extra cheese, fried onions, tomato, salami and homemade special dressing on a Kaiser roll.

“We keep the regular menu and daily specials simple and appealing,” Anne says, placing the emphasis squarely on the growing family business. “Yes, this is a bar with TVs, and we do show sports, but it is not a ‘sports bar’ with beer specials and all that. In fact, we are closed on Super Bowl Sunday, just to dodge the madness.”

Where did today’s McNally’s come from? In 1921, Rosa, Bryan and Hugh McNally (Anne’s great-grand generation) came from Port Richmond and started McNally’s Quick Lunch across the street from the present location. Its purpose was to serve food, with an occasional drink — never mind the reality of Prohibition! — to the motormen, conductors and, at times, the track workers at the end of the 23 trolley line of the old PRT (Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, today’s SEPTA). The trolleys boasted pot-bellied stoves for their customers in winter.

“Things were different as far as women were concerned in those days,” Anne declares. “My great-grandmother made all the food, but she wouldn’t dare be seen in the Quick Lunch when it was open; only the men waited on customers.” Anne’s grandparents’ generation, Hugh Junior, John and Arthur, were followed by her father, also named Hugh, and her uncle, also Arthur. “At one time, all five of us kids — my sister and I, plus our three brothers, were interns here. We learned by doing.”

Anne, 45, is married to Joe Piè. She has children 5 and 7, and a stepson age 18. Very active in the community, she is President of the Chestnut Hill Business Association and a 19-year sponsor of the Run for the Hill of It charity race along Forbidden Drive. McNally’s (and Anne) are also involved in this fall’s AbZOOlutely animal project with the Philadelphia Zoo. As we will all learn in coming weeks, gorgeously-decorated weatherproof zoo animals, sponsored by businesses, are being painted by artists, some well-known and others hoping to be. As an important part of this civic endeavor, Magarity Ford has agreed to protect all the painted animals with clear spray-paint, just the way they would clearcoat a car. After the animals’ eight-week appearance all over the Hill and a series of events, they will be auctioned off to benefit the Community Fund. The final event is Saturday, November 18. (Bid for one, and you could have more than a turkey this Thanksgiving!)

“This is one event where everyone can get involved,” Anne says, “whether you’re a business owner, community resident, or visitor.” In promoting the event on McNally’s menus and elsewhere, Anne’s husband added some fun-comments, such as “Caution — Beware the giraffe with the mangy pick-up lion” and (egregious pun number two) “Safari, so good.”

In case you wonder whether McNally’s is a conclave for the Irish, you can pick up your copy of the monthly newspaper, The Irish Tradition, just inside the door. And they give new meaning to the Gaelic greeting, Cead Mile Failte, or a hundred thousand welcomes. More than likely, several hundred thousand happy diners — if you count repeaters — have been welcomed by the McNally clan in their 85 years on the Hill.