By Lara Alexander
This fall, just as the evenings call for a scarf and orange leaves begin to dance down Main Street, there will be a new place to in Edmonds ready to pour you a Guinness as you find your place near the fire and take in the authentic Irish atmosphere and music.
Brian Taylor, owner of Daphnes Bar at 415 1/2 Main St., is getting ready to open Jack Murphys, an Irish-themed bar on 4th Avenue North between Bill the Butcher and MKG Martial Arts. “As a business owner for the last 11 years, I know the value of a good landlord,” Taylor says. So when his current landlord offered him the space for Jack Murphys down the street, Taylor took the plunge with the lease for his new venture. The landlord will spend the next two months making changes to the space before handing over the keys to Taylor so that he can begin his preparations for the bar, with the anticipated opening after Labor Day.
Taylor has given Daphnes Bar such a distinctive feel, it’s clear that he enjoys the process of bringing vision and character to his business ventures. “I’m a bit of a purist,” he admits. “If it had been up to me, I would not have had stools at Daphnes. In Paris, people come in at 7 a.m. for espresso and come back at 7 p.m. for a glass of wine, standing at the bar to have their drink.” Thankfully, Taylor strayed from his purist ideals and provided Edmonds folks a place to sit at Daphnes, while delivering the spirit of a Parisian neighborhood bar with perfect pitch.
Married to an Irish woman, Taylor lived briefly in Cork two years ago and is excited to recreate an authentic Irish bar in his own hometown of Edmonds. His attention to style and detail is evident both in his execution of Daphnes and as he speaks about his plans for Jack Murphys. He does admit though that some details must be sacrificed to shape authenticity for a local audience, like a song played with traditional instruments but translated lyrics. A real Irish bar, Taylor explains, has no ice, no TV, four bottles of liquor behind the bar and five beers to offer. Not to worry — just as he caved on the stools for Daphnes, he’ll let us have ice and a few more choices at Jack Murphys.
As he describes his new bar, his vision begins to take shape: A fire burning in the fireplace, a small group of musicians playing the fiddle, tin-whistle and tineo Irish drum, neighbors gathered in conversation over a stout. “When the word gets out, people will usually be happy to play music for a few pints.” Taylor is sure to have music drifting out of the door every month during Thursday Art Walk, but he hopes that it will be a weekly occurrence. He is particularly excited about incorporating a “snug” into the design. “A snug is an enclosed area of the bar where women used to sit to drink,” Taylor explains. The snug provided a private seat for women, or even the local bobby or priest, to enjoy a discrete drink. Jack Murphys’ snug will be available for reservations and can be enjoyed by a small group of four patrons out for ladies night or two couples wanting a quiet corner.
Jack Murphys will be offering food with your drink, but the menu is still under discussion. No matter, what Taylor really serves up is an authentic atmosphere and fun style. Edmonds will be happy to share a stout with him.
A culinary adventurer, Lara Alexander grows, cooks and writes about food from her home in Edmonds. You can read about her garden and kitchen fun on the blog Food-Soil-Thread.
17 Replies to “My Edmonds Food: Daphnes owner to open Irish bar Jack Murphys this fall”
Nice !
I look forward to the opening.
Wonderful news. We’ve been waiting for a real pub to open in Edmonds for some time now — especially with live trad music!
Yay! This will be a great addition to the Edmond’s food and drink scene.
Swell just what Edmonds needs …another bar ! What’s next gambling? Prostitution? Tall buildings? Sheeze…
Brian Lets hope so.
We’ve peeked into Daphnes before, and while it seems quaint and the beer selection seemed good, we never thought to go in. Since we’ve moved to Edmonds, we’ve longed for a good ‘local’ bar, which honestly, we havent found yet. So, I am hoping this is the place for us.
Im also hoping there will be no ‘budweiser’ signs or that fizzy yellow beer in sight of this place..
I am very excited to see how this all turns out. I will be there for the bar opening for sure.
This is awesome.
Heyo add another bar on to the most awesome pub crawl you could do!!!
A real Irish pub will be a welcome addition to the growing number of restaurant and drinking establishments coming to downtown. I’m looking forward to listening (maybe even singing) a few Irish ballads and sipping on a Guinness, although I want mine chilled.
This is so exciting! Now my (adult) dancers and I will have a place to go for a pint after class, or a place to break out our hardshoes at a session! I can’t wait!
Great,
All we need is a bunch of drunking Irish people ruining our town. Take your Crache and move to Mountlake Terrace.
I hope you’re not going to serve your Guinness ice cold. God save us all if you do.
55 degrees would be a bit chiily, but acceptable.
If Brian is in…I am in!
@Brian, you forgot POT! And, let’s tax the hell out of all of it!
Dear Bob
We’re not all drunk, at least not all of the time… And your email sounded slightly tipsy, if i say so meself. If you come in and are nice, i might even sing for you in English! And Brian knows better than to serve frozen Guinness or fizzy yellow stuff. Trust me, he’s good at this.
Bob, you are assuming too much. First off the object of a Pub is not to get drunk; it is number one a place to be social within a community. Second not all beer are the same often times in a pub while the flavor of the beer is the point they do contain smaller amounts of alcohol it is more about the balance and taste of malts and hops something to be enjoyed not something to mass consume not unlike wine, A typical Stout may run around 3.5% ABV (Average By Volume) a typical Brown Ale maybe 3.0 to 4.0%. There is also a new Micro Brewery in Edmonds American Brewing Company that may well supply some of the said beers on Tap at this new place. Not to mention several other Brewers in this area all providing Jobs and yes the elusive tax dollars that support our community. So your take on a bunch of drunk people is really misplaced because elder consumers like myself and yes a new generation demand local quality products like beer not to get drunk but enjoy just as much as a fine win. As explained it does not appear as explained in any way your general take on what it is. So if you want to object to local business and new business creating jobs and want to ship them other communities then maybe simply disagree on where jobs are created and where quality products and gathering places should be.
Jack Murphys Irish pub is sure to make everyday an “Edmonds kind of Day”! Look forward to sharing a pint with the Taylors,Murphys and the rest of Edmonds that appreciates a pint (ok and or two) of Guinness! I will be certain to raise a glass to your continued successes!
Very glad to part of this Taylor clan and all the fabulous establishments they have created! Can’t wait for a jig in Jack Murphys!!