06/19/2026
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT! THE PUB HAS BEEN SOLD!
(A letter from John Parker to the community).
Yes, that’s right. After all this time, it has finally sold. It won’t close until Q1 of 2027, but there are a lot of reasons to believe that it will actually happen this time. The buyers have all of the qualities necessary to properly assume ownership of the pub. I talked to a lot of people about this over the past couple of years, and this is the best fit possible. If you love O’Connell’s, you have reason to be happy. Cheers!
Why am I announcing this now? I am doing so now because it is the six year anniversary of my father’s death. It seemed like an appropriate time to announce the sale of the pub six years after Jack Parker entered what he called, “the great mystery”.
My parents met at O’Connell’s Pub in 1962, when it first opened. They sort of knew each other from being in Gaslight Square at the same time, but it wasn’t until they started working at the pub that they hooked up. I have no record or pictures of their marriage. It was likely a courtroom quickie. In 1965 my dad bought the pub and my mom got pregnant. They had a daughter while living in Laclede Town, soon after Jack had bought the pub. Jack’s mom was his bookkeeper, having worked her way up to bookkeeper in the shirt factory in S. City where she worked from the age of ten. She was very good with bookkeeping, and if not for her, it’s likely that O’Connell’s would have never made it.
So, this has been a family business every step of the way. My family, my parents, my grandparents, cousins who worked here, brothers and sisters who worked here, my first job as a busboy when I was fourteen, and my life being turned upside down for the past six years as I put everything I had into saving the pub.
It was not pretty at times. I was a jerk at times. I regret some things that I said on the social media platforms. I was not used to being in the spotlight and got defensive. That, I regret. But what I did for the pub was to work seven days a week, sometimes sixty to seventy hours a week, to save the place. As time went on, the hours became less. I eventually worked my way into a much better spot. But I’m still called at the oddest times for the oddest problems. When you have twenty-five employees at a legendary establishment that everyone has a piece of their heart in, it can take its toll on you, mentally. There is a very unique pressure that has come with owning O’Connell’s Pub, and yet it was my family’s place, and I was the only person in the world who could do this, so I did it. I honored my father’s name after all that he had given me in life, and I don’t regret it for a minute. But if I’m being honest, I’m glad that it’s almost over.
There is a reason that there are “restaurant groups” these days. Being one person who is responsible for everything in a restaurant is nearly impossible. The group that bought the pub is great. I can’t tell you who it is for a number of months, but it will come out in time. I can only tell you that they are prepared to own a place like O’Connell’s. They are familiar with St. Louis, being located in the greater metropolitan area, and they have the backing to make sure that a bad month or two won’t sink them. They have some great plans, but as one of the partners said to me, you could spend a lot of money ruining O’Connell’s. So, worry not. The pub will remain largely the same, with only the second floor getting any real rehab. (Look for the second floor to be a hip lounge in the future). Please don’t inquire who the new owners are as we won’t tell you. Only a handful of people know, and they know to keep their lips sealed. Please respect the process and be patient. All good things in time.
I will be managing the pub until the new owners take over. The only thing to manage is the infrastructure and occasionally a new hire. Finding the right people has been a challenge in today’s market, but we are largely there. Turnover in restaurants can be brutal, and today it’s worse than ever, but we are in a good spot and will likely have very little turnover for a while. Morale is good and things are running smoothly. (knock on wood) I was committed to doing things the right way when I fixed things, so the infrastructure fixes have decreased the attention needed with each new fix, and boy, was there a lot to fix!
The real challenge that almost killed me over the past six years was the building maintenance. O’Connell’s is in a building that was constructed in 1905. The previous manager kept the doors open, but the place was not maintained properly. There were an endless number of things that I did to improve the place that didn’t cost a dime or were very inexpensive to do. It just took hard work and determination. Dale Duffer came in and saved O’Connell’s Pub, single handedly, after dad died. If not for Dale Duffer doing building maintenance and Patty Cook doing books in the early days of re-opening in 2020, the pub wouldn’t be open today. Dale taught me a lot about how to properly maintain the building, and I consulted with him continuously for the past six years. The pub infrastructure has never been in better shape than it is today.
The people that work at the pub are amazing. Any business is only as good as its people, and O’Connell’s is in great shape. The infrastructure is solid. Our vendors are almost all local and extremely dependable.
Business has been slow this spring and summer, and we do need your help to get to the finish line. I did everything I could, and now it’s up to you. I will work hard to do whatever it takes to keep the place going, but I’m just the maintenance man at this point. For this business, or any business, to keep going, it requires the customers to keep coming back. I’m very grateful to all of the customers who have been served over the course of my family owning this establishment since 1965. You helped my dad to provide for his family, and I thank you. I’m very glad to have worked for the past six years to preserve the memories that so many of you have made at the pub over the past decades. That was my primary motivation, and I think I have succeeded. Please come make some more memories with the next generations. The new owners will treat you well in 2027, and for years to come. It has been a pleasure to serve the community in the city that I love.
Here’s to Jack Parker and the great pub that he built! May it continue for decades to come!
