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28 | May 9, 2019 | the new lenox patriot dining out
newlenoxpatriot.com
The Dish
The Irish Patriot: a taste of Ireland in Orland Park
Alex Ivanisevic
Assistant Editor
Rather than travel the
3,600 miles across the Atlantic,
one needs only to
head to the Historic District
of Orland Park to get a
taste of Ireland at The Irish
Patriot.
Owners Vincent and
Fiona Tuohy came to
America from Ireland
roughly 10 years ago and
purchased the building at
9875 W. 143rd St. in 2010.
Today, they are serving
classic Irish and American
food to locals in a traditional
pub atmosphere.
“It’s a historical building
here; it is the first brick
building ever built here
in Orland Park,” Vincent
said. “When we bought
it, it was crumbling down
and the roof was caving in
and the walls were falling
down. It was a little piece
of history falling apart.
We’ve left this place in
good shape for another
100 years, I hope.”
After two years of remodeling
and much-needed
repairs, The Irish Patriot
opened in March of
2012.
“We tried to use the classical
Irish pub look, like
you’d see in small villages
in Dublin,” he said.
At the center of the dining
room is a large, stone
fireplace.
“Wouldn’t be an Irish
pub without one,” Vincent
said.
The pub is open from
11-2 a.m. Sunday through
Saturday, and serves “a
pretty extensive menu of
American and Irish fare,”
Vincent said. “Since we
opened in 2012, our three
top sellers are our fish and
chips ($14). They’re really
famous here. We use
The Irish Patriot Pub
9875 W. 143rd St. in
Orland Park
Hours
• 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily
For more information ...
www.theirishpatriot.
com
North Atlantic cod, and we
make our own batter with
a secret ingredient, and
then our burger ($12) is
hugely popular as well as
our Reuben ($13). They’re
always in our Top 3.”
Also on the menu are
traditional Irish dishes,
such as corned beef and
shepherd’s pie, among
other options.
In addition to serving
guests at the hardwood bar
in the pub section and in
the dining room throughout
the week, The Irish Patriot
allows its dining area
to be booked for parties.
Vincent said the restaurant
sees a lot of wedding
parties, communion
and confirmation parties,
“as we’re quite close to
St. Michael’s Catholic
Church here. ...We got a
church down the street and
a funeral home across the
street, so we do some funeral
work, too.”
The Tuohys also own
The Irish Legend in Willow
Springs and the Burbank
Pub in its namesake
town. They take pride in
the connection they have
made to the communities
around their pubs.
“We see a lot of regulars
here,” Vincent said. “We
are classically a neighborhood
bar. It is something
like ‘Cheers’ with the characters
that are in here.”
Fiona said the time commitment
to running the
pub is “completely 24/7,”
and she also remarked on
The Irish Patriot owner Vincent Tuohy was sure to include a fireplace in the pub, something he says no pub is
complete without. Photos by Alex Ivanisevic/22nd Century Media
One of the Top 3 items on The Irish Patriot’s menu is its Kinsale Fish & Chips ($14),
made with North Atlantic cod.
the regulars they see come
to The Irish Patriot.
“I love it, because we
get to know so many people
here, and I call them
regulars but they are actually
friends,” she said.
Similar to the way
Vincent described their
“neighborhood-bar vibe,”
Fiona said, “There’s a lot
of people who came here
on their own and just became
best friends.”
She said she appreciates
how friendly and outgoing
people are, and it creates
a “family atmosphere,
which is really nice.”
There are a few special
events The Irish Patriot
enjoys celebrating with its
guests — one of them being
St. Patrick’s Day.
“We have a very special
party here for St. Patrick’s
Day,” Vincent said. “It’s
basically a week here. The
weekend before [the holiday],
we have a trolley bus
and work with all the fellow
pubs in the area and
have a trolley bus crawl,
and then I fly in musicians
from Ireland every year for
the holiday, and they stay
a few days. We have a lot
of fun.”
Vincent said they are
looking forward to opening
the pub’s patio for the
summer, which he said
can get crowded in those
months but provides a fun
atmosphere for patrons.
“You got to love this
business,” Vincent said.
“It’s the long days I don’t
love; they’re a bit daunting.
But I love the people,
and every day is different.
When people are in a pub,
you know they’re relaxing.
You’re getting people at
their best who are coming
here to enjoy themselves.”