Emerald's Irish Pub to Host Grand Opening

Combining pub food and continental cuisine, the owners of two popular establishments have teamed up to open Emerald's Irish Pub and Restaurant, which will officially open its doors this Thursday with drink specials, free appetizers and live music from the Willy Lynch Band.

Though designed as an English Pub, this space adjacent to (formerly the Holiday Inn) has been a Mexican restaurant, Sombrero's, for the last several years. Now Dominick Glynn, owner of in Mountainside and Elizabeth Garofalo, owner of Mario's Tutto Bene in Union, are re-christening the space with a remodeling and a new menu that will offer the best of both their establishments.

“We're creating an Irish pub with great food,” Glynn said.

The menu includes an Irish section with corned beef sandwich on rye ($9), bangers and mash ($13) and a Dublin burger with Guinness barbecue sauce ($10). Dinner entrees, incorporating dishes from Mario's, range from veal meatballs with penne and fresh ricotta ($18) to a hanger steak with baby spinach, new potatoes, manchego and truffle vinaigrette ($21).

“It's actually a menu where everyone can find something for their palate,” Garofalo said.

To create the new restaurant, Glynn moved one of his chefs from Dylan's to work at Emerald's. The new chef was also trained by Garofalo's chef from Mario's.

Inside, the sombreros that adorned this space under the previous owners are gone, replaced with a modern pub vibe.

“The space still had that Irish pub feel,” Glynn said. “We took down the old stuff. Now we have the comfort of an Irish pub but with modern amenities, such as LED lights and plasma TVs.”

“The liquor bottles all have lights under them, and there's a green glow under the bar,” Garofalo added. “During the day, it's subtle. At night, it's dynamic, it's gorgeous.”

Still in the works is a lounge area with a fireplace in a corner of the restaurant, as well as an extended outdoor patio that should be complete in the next month. The owners also have access to the hotel's banquet facilities. From the smaller rooms in the back of the restaurant to the hotel's larger halls, they say they can cater everything from small parties and corporate events for 25 people to large events for as many as 600 people.

As he prepares for their grand opening, Glynn singled out the township of Springfield for being more cooperative and business-friendly than other local municipalities he has dealt with.

“It's a pleasure to do business with this town,” he said. “It's definitely a business-savvy town. A lot of towns make it difficult. Springfield wants us to succeed.”