Boyle’s Tavern: “Neighborhood Bar”
I first walked through the door at age 18. It was cool, dark, and mysterious. My friend, Joe, was the guide. His dad, Emmett, was the boss. I instantly felt comfortable in Boyle’s Tavern. Beer was allowed at that age back then and Mr. Boyle served me my first “legal” drink. The Willow Avenue bar — teeming with comfort and characters — has been doing hospitality right for 90 years now.
Pete’s Inn, 1950. (Pat Thayer Photo). Today it’s Boyle’s Tavern.
The first “official” drink in the area — quickly to become the categorical “neighborhood bar” — was served in 1934, shortly after the repeal of the 18th Amendment on alcohol prohibition. That June the borough issued a license to Peter and Nora Sheridan to sell “beer” on Willow Avenue. The location has been known for its “warmth and hospitality” ever since.
The son of a Holmdel farmer, Peter Henry Sheridan came to Monmouth Beach in 1909. He bought the Willow Avenue land and purchased and moved an old laundry house from the nearby Monmouth Beach Clubhouse Hotel on Beach Road. In 1913, the Sheridan’s converted that building (also used to repair and store elite touring cars) into the town’s first gas station and auto repair shop and later on it was a moving service and storage facility.
Boyle’s Tavern hosts “Happy Hours” —
3 pm to 7 pm, Thursday thru Sunday
The garage burned in April 1931 and was rebuilt. While under construction, the auto business moved to a barn in back of the Sheridan’s home on Willow Avenue. There, “Pete’s Inn” was informally established to serve drinks to chauffeurs and other workers. The auto business returned to the new garage and the old police kiosk from Ocean Avenue became the office.
Bar Beginnings
During 1920s dry times, “home brew” was served from the barn. Beer was 10 cents per glass with every third one was free. (Call it a speakeasy — alcohol in America was banned from 1919 to 1933.) In the early 1930s, a billiard room (including ornate woodwork, windows, and a Tiffany chandelier) was moved from an old seashore mansion in town and added to the front of the barn to become the barroom for Pete’s Inn.
It quickly became a popular gathering spot — with food and weekend music and dancing. By 1936 a liquor ordinance was passed changing the closing hours from 5 am to 2 am. The kiosk was moved to the west side of the now expanding structure and made into a men’s room. Due to a lack of heat at the inn, the bar business was moved into the family’s nearby home (Pete’s living room) for awhile.
“He was a wise man who invented beer.”
—Plato
Sheridan had a remarkable record of public service to Monmouth Beach. His resume included stints as borough fire company chief and president, councilman, police commissioner, justice of the peace, borough recorder, and MB Club superintendent. His wife Nora was born in Ireland.
In October 1945, Ed and Mary Holden (Pete’s daughter) assumed control of the business and tore down the barn and its additions. Upon converting the garage into a bar, the borough formally approved the liquor license transfer and Pete’s Inn was officially established. Mary, who died in 1998, had one of the town’s first TV sets installed at the bar. In August 1950, the Holden family sold the business to Harry and Jean Smith.
Boyle’s Tavern, 2019. Good spirits — in all the right ways — is what the place is all about.
Today’s Tavern
In April 1956, J. Emmett Boyle and his wife Doris acquired the business at 2 Willow Avenue and their son still operates the bar today. Mr. Boyle also owned a bar in Newark (next door to a police station). Renowned for his potent opinions and quiet generosity, Mr. Boyle also served the borough with dedication. He was a founding member (in 1958) and former president (in 1959) of the borough first aid squad and also served as borough fire chief (in 1968). For many years he was the borough’s welfare director and was a devoted Precious Blood churchwarden. Born in Harrison, NY, he was a US Army vet from WW II. Mrs. Boyle, a 1948 grad of St. Mary’s School of Nursing, died in January 1999. A Duryea, Pa native, she was a 40-year member of the MB Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary.
In those years, Boyle’s was a classic “shot-and-a-beer” joint with a crowd has spanned the spectrum of local society. Early on it was mostly men — some in business suits and some in laborer’s clothes — forcefully discussing politics, sports, business and life in general. Some also recall the bar’s “talking bird” in the early 1960s. Savvy at commerce, Mr. Boyle also acquired much of the land around the bar.
In August 1967, a story about Monmouth Beach appeared in the New York Times. The piece was written by James F. Clarity, a prominent Times journalist and Boyle buddy, who bought his River Avenue home from Mr. Boyle (the deal was signed on the pool table). The large feature article with several photos was entitled, Monmouth Beach, NJ, Once Playground of the Rich, Fears Becoming Playground au Go Go of the Young. The story, somewhat controversial for its time, also referred to Boyle’s Tavern and the owner’s practice of not serving “phonies.”
Joseph E. Boyle, Jr. took charge of the bar when his father died in June 1979. Joe has made many modern improvements over the years (but still “No Bud” as in Budweiser) and today runs a successful business. Forever a place of good cheer. Only a week out of high school when he started full-time management of the bar, Joe has endured longer than his dad — now prospering on Willow Avenue for 45 years. One of the last remaining smart, steady, and serious small tavern owners. Frequent host to horseplayers, lawyers, town gossips, football fanatics, politicians, and PTA moms, today Boyle’s Tavern continues to be the embodiment of “Monmouth Beach hospitality.”
Coach Lombardi
Closing Time: Super Bowl Coach Sent “Packing”
A noted Monmouth Beach quipster, once remarking about the characters who’ve passed through our town, said “they all stop by here on their way to Hollywood.” Perhaps.
Among the famous to visit the neighborhood watering hole on Willow Avenue through the years were actor Franchot Tone (1935 Oscar nominee for Mutiny on the Bounty and one of Joan Crawford’s four husbands) who was “bounced” from the bar. Pop singer Tony Martin, who had family in the area. NFL All-Pro linebacker Phil Villapiano stopped by to watch his Raiders. Roger King, the billionaire TV executive who launched Oprah Winfrey’s career, loved the large pool table. Tennis great Bjorn Borg held court one evening. TV impresario Ed Sullivan stopped by one night and was recalled as a stingy tipper. And one pro football great, whose visit itself is stuff of legend.
When Vince Lombardi entered Boyle’s Tavern one late in January 1967, he was Head Coach of the reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. He had just attended a dinner party at The Colony Restaurant in Rumson (later known as the Fromagerie) owned by Nick Egidio, a popular shore restaurateur (who owned the Rum Runner too). Lombardi knew the area well. He and his wife Marie lived on Lockwood Avenue in Fair Haven when he coached for the New York Giants in the late 1950s. Lombardi had been a lifeguard in Sea Bright in the 1930s and Marie was an RBC High School graduate.
Frank Crahay, a Monmouth Beach resident and Lombardi friend, had just dined with the great coach and invited him back to Boyle’s for a nightcap and some shuffleboard, whereupon Crahay (also one of the state’s keenest legal minds) dispatched the Hall-of-Fame coach in three quick games. The highly-competitive Lombardi, seeking to beat “that hot-shot young lawyer,” wanted another game as closing time neared. To which, an adamant owner and bartender, Emmett Boyle, replied “Not here, Coach. I’m closing.” That was it. So long Vince, I’m shutting up. As the locals say, “only in Boyle’s.”
A football coach who preached fundamentals and execution, Lombardi would win a second Super Bowl title the next year. During his coaching career with the Packers the team won five NFL championships. He died in September 1970 and is buried in nearby Mt. Olivet cemetery in Middletown (later that year, the Super Bowl trophy was named in his honor). Frank Crahay, who served for many years as a respected NJ Superior Court presiding judge, confirmed the events shortly before his death in April 2013.
Boyle’s Tavern/Pete’s Inn Photos:
Boyle’s Tavern sketch, 2022. By Carton Brewing Company in Atlantic Highlands — MORE INFO.
Boyle’s Tavern inside, 2005.
Boyle’s Tavern inside, Fall 2021. Owner Joe Boyle — in his familiar spot behind the bar — has run the business since 1979.
A very busy Pete’s Inn, 1930s. New Jersey was one of the last state legislatures to approve the Prohibition amendment in March 1922.
Sheridan’s Garage, 1920s. Today, the location is Boyle’s Tavern.
“Sheridan’s Garage” painting by borough artist Gail Gannon, 1975.
Pete’s Inn bar (the family house), 1943. In front: Grandma Nora Sheridan, Ed and Pat Holden. Behind the bar: Peter Sheridan and Mary Holden.
Long Green — Boyle’s Tavern pool-table, December 2014. The nine-foot table is rated as one of the Jersey Shore’s best. The Asbury Park Press named it “best place to play pool” in Monmouth County for 2021-22.
Boyle’s Tavern shuffleboard table, 2012. The table is about 22-feet long. Officially called “Table shuffleboard,” its origins are from US east coast bars and taverns.
Long Shot — Boyle’s Tavern shuffleboard table, 2020.
Pete’s Inn bar with owners Mary Holden and Ed Holden, 1945. In December 1946, according to the Long Branch Daily Record, borough commissioners authorized borough taverns/bars to remain open until 6 am.
Pete’s Inn bar with owners Mary Holden and Ed Holden, 1945.
Boyle’s Tavern inside, 2010s.
Boyle’s’ Tavern, 2017. Robbins Street was named for George Robbins, who first came to Monmouth Beach in the 1840s. He went on to serve as borough assessor, school board member and fireman. He died in 1914.
Boyle’s Tavern, 2018.
Boyle’s Tavern area aerial image, 1958.
Boyle’s Tavern inside, 2016.
Boyle’s Tavern inside, 2010s.
Peter Sheridan (1876-1951). The namesake of “Pete’s Inn” — who started it all as a “hobby.”
Sheridan Garage after fire, April 1931. Pete’s Inn sits in the background.
Here: Pete’s Inn outhouse, Before: MB police kiosk on Ocean Avenue, Now: Situated on Well Fargo bank property, 1940s.
Pete’s Inn ad. Long Branch Daily Record, June 1950.
Shot & Beer at Boyle’s Tavern, 2019.
Greg Kelly playing in a pool tournament at Boyle’s Tavern, February 1986 (Mike Booth Photo).
Super Bartender — Chris Bogner at Boyle’s Tavern, 2015. Chris tended bar on Willow Avenue for over 35 years — operating with plenty of flair, finesse and fun along the way. A longtime borough resident and Monmouth Beach School grad, Chris called his work there “the best job that no one knew about.” For Summer 1992, Chris was named among the Jersey Shore’s “favorite bartenders” by the Asbury Park Press.
Somers Brothers of Monmouth Beach: Terry, Tim, Cliff and Bob at Boyle’s Tavern, 2018. Tim is now a borough commissioner.
Boyle’s Tavern Review. Asbury Park Press, 1990.
Boyle’s Tavern: “very respectable premises.” Long Branch Daily Record, July 1959.
Boyle’s Tavern Men’s Room, 2018.
After my father’s article appeared in the New York Times, he told me a story about a woman who lived on Ocean Avenue. She approached him in Boyle’s and spat her drink in his face. Her reason: because my father had written that people didn’t lock their doors in Monmouth Beach, which we never did. Emmett Boyle, the owner and one of my father’s best friends, banned her for life.
I well remember My bro’s and sis’s Christmas caroling in Boyles. Mr. Boyle (who we knew as a dignified usher at Precious Blood-and were a wee fearful) was behind the bar as we timidly went in on that cold night. His warmth and welcome is legendary in our family. After singing Hark the Angels,he asked us to sing Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem and collected tips from the patrons and himself. He was kind, asked after our parents, complimentary and full of the Christmas spirit. I always looked forward to seeing him at Church thereafter.
I tended bar at Boyle’s while attending Monmouth College. Emmett was very good to me. I met my future father-in-law, Bill Brownlee, there. I married his daughter Sandy at Precious Blood Church in 1969. I also worked for another man who was very good to me — Walter Mihm at the Channel Club. Also worked for Ray Hinck, Sidney Johnson at the freezer, Tommy Barham, Johnny Rise and at the MB Club.
I graduated the MB School in 1955 in a class of 10, not the smallest class ever. I have great memories of growing up in MB.
Pete and Nora Sheridan were my mother’s Aunt and Uncle. The Walsh sisters, Mary and Alice (my mother) spent summers there when they were kids. Their father James Walsh was Nora’s brother. His wife, Bridget O’Neil, died about 1920 leaving the little girls then age 5 and 6.
James was told to put the girls in an orphanage because he wouldn’t be able to take care of them. He said: “Over my dead body” and hired housekeepers for the school year and Nora and Pete took the girls for many summers. Uncle Pete taught my mother how to drive; she never did get her license though.
She talked about how much she loved them. It’s amazing to find this article. Thank you.
And still no BUD … I love it. I was Joe Boyle’s PPD sales guy from 1982 to 1988.
Thanks for the memories, Joe (and the sales).
Smitty