Small Business Monday – Spotlight on Buck Mulligan’s

Want a plate of traditional Irish chips or a cold Guinness?  How about live music?  Comedy night?  A full dinner?  Danny Winter’s got it all at Buck Mulligan’s!

Danny Winter, co-owner and operator of Buck Mulligan’s Public House, Birmingham’s only Irish pub, told us all about his very uniques business!

Buck Mulligan’s Public House is a traditional Irish pub in the heart of Southside. We are located at 2011 Highland Avenue and have been open for two years.  I am also the owner of Crestwood Coffee Company (for almost seven years now.) My partner at Buck Mulligan’s is Michael Gordan. We have approximately fifteen employees at Buck’s and about six at Crestwood Coffee.

Fresh house made traditional Irish fare is our specialty. We also have amazing burgers, house cut French fries (chips), fish and chips, cottage pie, salads all with a touch of Irish in every menu item.  Our two most unusual dishes are the all day breakfast, our version of a traditional breakfast with bangers, rasher, eggs, potatoes, grilled tomatoes and baked beans or our Irish curried chips.  Our cottage pie and fish and chips with split pea mash are my two favorites.

This Thursday night we are doing a beer pairing and Cajun themed menu with local brewery red hills from Homewood. There will be six courses including, turtle soup, homemade hogs head cheese, crawfish pie, boudin stuffed quail with mixed berry compote and a whiskey praline bread pudding. Each course will be paired with a different beer from Redhills. See our Facebook page for more info or reservations.

I love the inclusive and eclectic community that Five Points and the Southside area provides. I truly love being the place that all can feel comfortable.  I want people to know that we are so much more than a bar! Being a traditional Irish pub, our food is more important than the alcohol. A true definition of a pub (public house) is that all ages, etc. are welcome.  We long to be the meeting place and community gathering place that a pub aspires to be; a place for dinner, conversations, and merriment.

Buck Mulligan’s Public House hosts several regularly occurring events:

The last Sunday of every month we have the Celtic Music Session. Traditional Celtic music by local musicians. 6-9pm free

Second Sunday Jazz Session 6-9 pm Free

Third Sunday of every month is Sharon’s Drag Brunch

First Saturday of every Month is Drama Bomb Burlesque

Twice a month we have Comedy in The Craic Room.  Taco Truck Tuesday, ETC Comedy, and Bernie Maskman are the most frequent groups

Second Monday of every month is Theology on Tap

Every Monday is Craic Karaoke and Service Industry Night

Every Tuesday is Pub Poll Trivia

Every Wednesday is Whiskey Wednesday, $1 off all whiskeys and flights and occasionally Irish Whiskey tastings

Live music most Friday and Saturday nights

There is no way to choose just one hardest thing about being a business owner. The time it takes, being the last to get paid, being constantly on call, daily wondering if you are going to make it! I love what I do and wouldn’t change it for anything but every day has new fears and challenges.  The most rewarding thing about being a small business owner is my regular customers. I love seeing how my place(s) get accepted by the community and what they mean to others!

My hope for the future of Birmingham is that it will eventually get out of its own way and become the city it can be! Birmingham has so much potential and so many great people that want to push it forward but at the same time many folks who are continuing to hold us back. We must keep pushing forward and get the ones holding us back, out of the way. Birmingham will have to make it easier for small businesses to succeed, we need more focus on these people rather than continuing to give breaks to the big boys who care nothing about this city. We also need focus on our education system and if we as a city are going to grow we must prepare those coming after us for the future!