Restaurants & Bars

Historic Doyle's In Jamaica Plain To Close

Folks are taking to social media to lament the end of an era.

Doyle's has grown from a one room Irish pub to the three room bar.
Doyle's has grown from a one room Irish pub to the three room bar. (Jenna Fisher/Patch file photo)

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — It's been a neighborhood institution for more than a century, supplying pizza and drinks to the ultimate Frisbee players and politicians alike. Those who have worked there have watched the neighborhood transform. As the photos on the packed walls show, there's history here. But now that's about to end.

The pub is set to close its doors for good and has plans to sell its liquor license to Davio's a chain, The Boston Globe first reported. The bar's owner cited high real estate as the factor, though the owner's family owns the property, according to the city assessor database.

There's no announcement yet on the pub's Facebook, but the news isn't going over well on social media.

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"Any community action to save this place and I am IN! I'm just sitting here crying my eyes out," posted one woman to a local Facebook group.

Others lamented that it's one of several old bars with character that have closed up shop in JP, in recent years citing James Gate, which shuttered suddenly in 2016 and the Drinking Fountain in 2017.

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But this felt different, folks said.

"I don't consider most of the turnovers of various joints really important markers, but #Doyles closing and passing its [liquor] license to #Davio's is a significant cultural marker," wrote one person on Twitter.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley took the news hard, too.

"Devastatingly sad news about @DoylesCafe, a JP institution since 1882. Doyle's played a huge role in shaping our neighborhood (& politics). It was my unofficial district office & the home of more civic associations, groups, & JP orgs than I can list. Titanic loss for the n'hood," he tweeted.

The pub first opened in 1882. Doyle's has grown from a one room Irish pub to the three room bar, complete with a room dedicated to former Mayor Menino. Owner Gerry Burke Jr. took over the family legacy in 2005 and kept Doyle's true to its Irish culture and charm, according to the pub's website. The pup is known for movie nights, music nights, and has hosted a 5-mile run for the past 23 years.

NBC 10 recently did a feature on the pub:

Related:

James's Gate: Former Site of Jamaica Plain Hangout Sold To Developer

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