I’ve been talking to people recently about Merchant Square — the bars and restaurants in the Nuuanu Avenue and Merchant Street area. It’s one of the most historic and interesting places on Oahu.
George Mullen Beard said he tended bar at Matteo’s downtown between 1977 and 1982. It’s now Murphy’s Bar & Grill.
“There were five bars operating on that corner back then: O’Toole’s, Jameson’s Irish Pub, the Merchant Square Oyster Bar, Matteo’s and a small bar behind O’Toole’s called Sneeky’s Spaghetti House.
“It was the place to be on Friday night. The clientele was a variety of the people that worked in the area, with a lot of attorneys and workers from the courts.
“Monday night football was popular, even though the game was on a time delay, as we didn’t yet have satellite-live broadcasts. It was a very fun time.”
The several restaurants in the area banded together to name themselves Merchant Square in 1978. Here’s a little bit about them.
Murphy’s Bar & Grill
Murphy’s location was the Royal Hotel back in the 1860s. Its waterfront location made it a gathering spot for merchants and sailors. King David Kalakaua visited, as did Robert Louis Stevenson.
By 1890 the Royal Hawaiian Saloon occupied the building. In 1947 an Army “Surplus Center” was there, followed by the Royal Spaghetti House in 1970, the Golden Guinea and then Matteo’s Royal Tavern in 1977.
Matteo’s was founded by Matty Jordan, who was childhood friends with Frank Sinatra, who encouraged him to open his own place. He had two in Los Angeles, one in Waikiki on Seaside and Kuhio avenues with a painting of Sinatra just inside the front door, and one downtown, where Murphy’s is today.
Beard said that when he worked there, Wanda Fusco (Matty’s ex-wife) and her husband, Nick, were the owners.
“Wanda was a very nice, mild-mannered lady. Nick was a stereotypical New York Italian … a little rough around the edges. A very odd couple.
“When I started working there in 1977, downtown was in its heyday, with block parties on Friday nights that closed Merchant Street between Nuuanu Avenue and Bethel Street.”
Martha German told me she also worked at Matteo’s Royal Tavern downtown.
“In 1982 I was fresh off the boat and didn’t know anyone or anything about the downtown dining scene. I worked three lunches a week and rode the bus from Kaneohe.
“I had a weekly group of about six architects and interior designers who came in for lunch every Friday. They called themselves the POETS (Piss on Everything, Tomorrow’s Saturday) and would stay for hours past lunch time.
“Eventually one of them offered me a job, and I was able to move on after about two years at Matteo’s.”
Bob Hampton said Matteo’s was bought out of a bankruptcy by a hui and renamed the Royal Hawaiian Tavern.
“The hui was comprised of Ed Greene, Furgie Ferguson, Billy ‘Super Star’ Williams and me. I was the president.” Hampton owned the Territorial Tavern at Bishop Street and Ala Moana Boulevard.
“I tried to get the name ‘Royal Hawaiian Saloon,’ as that was what it was called in 1890, but the Liquor Commission would not let me use the name ‘Saloon,’ so we settled on ‘Royal Hawaiian Tavern.’
“I used the same format as I had in the Territorial Tavern in the start-up of the Royal Hawaiian Tavern. We even opened featuring Moe Keale, who was part of the Sons of Hawaii.
“They were on stage at the Territorial Tavern every Sunday for over three years.
“A couple years later we decided to change the format and bought Billy Williams and Furgie out and changed the name to Jameson’s Harbor Grill, then in 1987 I sold the restaurant to Don Murphy, so now it’s Murphy’s Bar & Grill.”
Don Murphy has now run it for over 30 years. He calls it “a place where people can go and be comfortable, for food, drinks and companionship.”
O’Toole’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
Across from Murphy’s at 902 Nuuanu Ave. is the T.R. Foster Building, which was a shipping office in 1891. A plumber was there in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1959, territorial Sen. Daniel Inouye used it for his campaign headquarters when he ran for Congress.
Suzanne and Alfie Lenz were some of the first to restore the old buildings and capitalize on the neighborhood’s charm. Alfie’s Pub opened in 1970 with English food served on planks, and drinks.
Alfie’s became William Tell, then Red Baron and Sam’s Place in quick succession, and then O’Toole’s Irish Pub in 1975.
It was founded by Bob Maynard and Ron Dougherty and named after Dougherty’s good friend Eddie O’Toole.
Dougherty offered “Nearly Completely Authentic Irish Stew,” so named because it used beef instead of the traditional mutton or lamb. Corned beef and steak and kidney pie were other customer favorites.
J.J. Niebuhr, formerly of JJ Dolan’s, has bought O’Toole’s and plans to reopen it by mid-January, Murphy told me.
Jameson’s Irish Coffee House
Ed Greene opened Jameson’s Irish Coffee House on Merchant Street in 1977. It had been a pie shop in 1971 and churned through operators and names. There were also Jameson’s in Haleiwa, Waikiki and Kailua-Kona.
Greene opened the Merchant Square Oyster Bar in 1979 with a beautiful Garden Courtyard. Around that time the Merchant Square Restaurant Association was formed and included Matteo’s Restaurant and O’Toole’s Pub.
Greene said the secret to good Irish coffee, besides strong coffee and Jameson’s Irish whiskey, is to use real whipping cream.
Sneeky’s Spaghetti House
Sneeky’s was at 6 Marin St. A 1978 Dining Out article said, “Old brick walls, checkered tablecloths, candlelit tables, and comfortable furnishings create a romantic Old World ambiance that bids you to relax and enjoy.”
Danny Shima and Rex Cowan owned it with Roy Uehara as manager and Barry Silva as head chef.
One of its specials was a Cornish game hen with cherry sauce, pasta and homemade bread for $3.95. Chicken Rochelle was stuffed with apples and almonds. Bar-B-Q shortribs was its signature dish. Of course, they had pasta dishes and sandwiches at lunch.
Block parties
Hampton told me how the Merchant Street Pau Hana Block Parties were created. “The block parties (over 100 of them over three years) were co-started by Mayor Eileen Anderson, Ed Greene and me in 1983.
“Mayor Anderson met with us in the Territorial Tavern and shared her concern for the bad reputation that downtown had as a bawdy place after 6 p.m., when workers went home.
“She asked what we could do to keep more folks downtown after work. The Territorial Tavern was already full after work and had no more room to expand, so we suggested closing Merchant Street from Nuuanu Avenue to Bethel Street for a block party.
“We planned for about 500 folks a night from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. We often saw 1,000 or more, and 90% were downtown workers.
“Because 18-year-olds could drink then and many of the workers were in their late 40s and 50s, the entertainment format ranged from 1960s rock ’n’ roll to 1970s Hawaiian music and disco.
“For the first 10 events, the city provided the street permit, the Royal Hawaiian Band’s sound system and sound man. We provided the liquor license, stage, personnel, entertainers, lighting and insurance.
“Every event was free of accidents, and we never ever had a complaint — not even during a St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween or super- large New Year’s block party.
“We gave about 10% of the gross proceeds from each event to a nonprofit, like IHS, March of Dimes, Falls of Clyde and many others.
“Due to the success of the block parties, we were asked by the city to produce their Statehood Silver Jubilee, which was also a roaring success.”
“Coors became our house beer, and the distributor’s rep was David Booth. Soon he became our partner, and he eventually formed his own company, Events International. We turned over total control to him, and he operated the block parties well into the early 1990s.
“The Merchant Street Pau Hana Block Parties were a total success at keeping workers downtown, well beyond our expectations, and they accomplished all of the goals set forth by Mayor Anderson. Even today my wife, Kay, and I often hear that folks met their mates at one of our block parties and are still married.”
I know COVID-19 has been challenging, especially for bars, but I hope Merchant Square will return to its former vibrant self soon.
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Bob Sigall is the author of the five “Companies We Keep” books. Email your comments, suggestions and questions to Sigall@Yahoo.com.
