Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Positive Pub: Couple use years of experience in building own Vegas business

Brian McMullan has a clear vision of what an Irish pub should be.

"It's where you have a christening, communion, marriage and wake, and they're all the same person."

That was true for the establishments Brian's family owned and operated in Ireland for the better part of a century, and Brian hopes it's someday true for the authentic Irish pubs he's helped to build across the country over the last several years.

Brian, 57, spent the majority of his life "seeing the world," and he's achieved success as both a manager and entrepreneur in the casino industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

But he's only recently realized that what he really wants to do is continue the tradition of his family. His attention to detail is evident in the pubs he's helped design and build in Las Vegas including Nine Fine Irishmen at New York-New York, Fado at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino and J.C. Wooloughan at the J.W. Marriott.

McMullan's Irish Pub, however, is different. While the other pubs are owned by companies and corporations, Brian and his wife, Lynn, 43, have complete control and ownership of the business that bears their name.

After years of working for others, they finally have something to call their own, and their personal touch is everywhere. Scattered throughout the pub are wall drawings, taken from old family photos. Brian's aunts, uncles, parents and siblings can be seen in the main dining areas and in the "snugs" separate, private areas that seat parties of up to six people.

Lighting is low-key, with dark wood flooring and dark wood trim contrasting with walls ranging in colors from red to beige. The northeast room, called the "Cottage," is elaborately decorated with such artifacts as pitchforks, hoes and entertainment bills. A bookshelf offers customers such reading as "Gilbert's Wonders of the World."

The southeast room, called the "Victorian" or "Murphy's Parlor," is much more formal, with family photos hanging in frames on the walls. It's the only room where smoking is allowed. A small dining area to the northwest is called the "Hotel," and a stage for live music has a big-screen television handy during downtimes for fans of rugby, soccer, or whatever sport happens to be on.

The main area is a cornucopia of oddities and antiques, including an old fiddle that sits in a glass case with a small label reading, "In case of the devil, break glass." The bar has raised display cases containing models of schooners, and old Irish sayings are painted everywhere you look.

The McMullans have built up a familiar clientele in a short time. They may never see a customer's christening, communion, marriage and wake at their pub, but for the time being, just having a pub to call their own is enough.

Sporting life

Brian comes from a rich background of Irish pubs, although he didn't actually get to see one until he was 21 years old.

His grandparents operated two pubs in Glenarm in County Antrim in Northern Ireland: The Seaview Hotel (bought in 1919 and which became a private residence when it was sold after World War II) and the Farmer's Hotel, which the family ran from 1908 until 1974.

But Brian's family had to leave Ireland before he was born.

"When my grandfather died, he left the hotel to the eldest son, Uncle Jim," Brian said. "But that meant my dad and his fellow siblings had to move out."

Brian's father, Thomas, ended up moving to Swaziland, South Africa. Brian was born there in 1947, and his family never visited while he was growing up.

"We didn't have enough money to go, and also my father didn't want to go back because his mother died while he was in World War II," Brian remembers. "He very much missed her."

Between school and sports, Brian didn't have much time to miss anyone. Soccer and cricket were Brian's passions growing up.

He enjoyed moderate success in athletics -- he became a semi-professional soccer player at age 17 -- but soon realized he needed a paying job.

At age 20 he became a teacher, specializing in economics and bookkeeping.

"Some of my friends were doing it (teaching,)" Brian said.

Lynn was quick to add, "He's very bright, but he didn't do any work."

"I've been very lucky. I feel very lucky," Brian responded.

After a year of teaching, Brian was ready to leave.

"I wanted to see the world, and at that time, to me the 'rest of the world' was Europe," he said.

Taking a gamble

Upon moving to England -- "I chose it because it was English-speaking" -- Brian tried out for a soccer club, but quickly realized a career in sports wasn't going to happen.

On a whim, Brian applied for a job at the Palm Beach, a relatively small casino, in Mayfair.

"There was an advert in the paper. I'd been to casinos in Swaziland, and it looked quite an interesting thing to get into."

Brian trained to be a roulette dealer, then a blackjack dealer.

What started as a lark turned into a career. Brian ended up working for or in casinos for the next 30 years.

After two years with Palm Beach, Brian got a job with Playboy as a blackjack/roulette supervisor. He worked his way up, and by 1986 -- the year he left -- Brian was the director of casino operations.

He met and married Pamela Jacobs in 1970, and they had two children together -- Stuart, 31, and Jessica, 28 (who now works as assistant general manager at McMullan's).

When Brian was 24, Playboy offered him the chance to open a casino in England, the Portsmouth Playboy Club. He jumped at the chance, and headed it up for four years.

In 1976 he went to the Manchester Playboy Club as head of operations, and remained in charge of the Portsmouth Club. In 1978 he became manager of the Playboy Club in London, and in 1979 took over the Victoria Sporting Club after Playboy bought it out.

"I'm quite good with people," he said. "I'm a quiet guy, but when I'm with people I'm not bad."

In his early years in Europe, Brian made it a point to visit his relatives in Ireland as much as possible, and fell in love with the area as well as his family's pub.

"My biggest memory is people being up until 2 a.m. and fresh salmon," he said. "My auntie Nance was an expert cook, and the salmon were in the river just behind the hotel."

He often entertained the notion of starting his own pub, but it wouldn't happen for some time.

"My mother used to say, 'When are you going to get a proper job?' " Brian said.

Building a future

In 1986, Brian was hired as a consultant for Sun International's casino operations in South Africa, moving back to South Africa the following year.

In 1992 Brian was offered a job by Seven Circle Resorts to open casinos in Colorado. He eventually opened two Indian casinos for them, one in South Dakota and one in El Paso, Texas, and operated them both before eventually settling in Las Vegas in 1997.

When the company set its sights on Las Vegas, Brian already had a working knowledge of the area from his time with Playboy.

"We had loose friendships with the Desert Inn and the old MGM," he said. "If a customer in London wanted to go to Vegas, we'd send them to people we knew. When I was growing up in South Africa, I used to think this was the place I'd like to come."

Seven Circle Resorts bought land in Summerlin and developed the Resort at Summerlin, later the J.W. Marriott. It was there that Brian built his first authentic Irish pub, J.C. Wooloughan.

"There wasn't an authentic pub in Las Vegas at that time," he said. "It was very successful from the day it opened. Everything in there is from Ireland."

Brian left Seven Circle Resorts in 1999 and set up two companies of his own, the Celtic Hospitality Group and Silver Wind, the latter under which he built one more Indian casino in California in 2000. Later that year he was approached by the Irish Pub Company to manage its affairs in the United States.

All told, Brian has been involved in the construction of four casinos and more than 15 authentic Irish pubs across America. And he's not about to stop anytime soon.

Turning point

The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, turned out to be life-changing for Brian in more ways than one.

"We were working on Nine Fine Irishmen, but when 9/11 hit, we stopped," Brian said. "That gave me time to think about finally opening my own pub. By November of that year, I decided building my own establishment was what I wanted to do."

He opened McMullan's in November of the following year, and most of what you'll see in the pub is from Brian's family, including suitcases, cradles and even an old metal milk carton with the "Farmer's Hotel" logo.

"I don't think of them as heirlooms, just things I like," he said.

While Guinness and the Coast Road Inn Fish & Chips are the staple of the pub, other specialties include McMullan's Steak Sandwich, Grandma Mac's Shepherd's Pie and Bangers & Mash (sausages served with mashed potatoes).

Although he still works with the Irish Pub Company -- as president of U.S. operations -- he rarely leaves Las Vegas, preferring instead to spend time with his 7-year-old daughter, Branagh, 13-year-old son, Ross -- his two children with Lynn -- and Jessica.

"In the computer age, I can do a good deal of my work here," he said.

Reading people

Although Lynn was also born in South Africa, she didn't meet her future husband until 1989, and when she did her first thought was, "What an arrogant guy."

Lynn, who prides herself on being able to read people well, soon discovered Brian wasn't what she expected. But then, it's been the unexpected in people that Lynn finds most enjoyable.

"My main interest has always been people from the point of view that we're all so bizarre and, yet, all the same," she said.

She graduated the University of Capetown in 1982 with a degree in psychology, but decided against making it a career.

"It didn't have the same intrigue by the time I got my degree."

Abandoning psychology for the modeling trade, Lynn soon found herself choreographing modeling shows, which evolved into classes she taught that focused on confidence and self-esteem for pre-teens and high school students.

Lynn eventually took a job with a management consulting agency, flying across the country and giving seminars to various businesses.

That's when she met Brian.

"We in the same airport, waiting for the same plane," she said. "It turned out I was doing a seminar for his company."

Despite her initial opinion of Brian, they were dating within six months, and married in 1992.

Making choices

Lynn continued working, but decided to call it quits when her first child was born.

"When I was first married, I was loving life, playing golf, being selfish," she said. "Getting pregnant was a life-changing episode. I was going to have a baby and keep working, but I became an earth mother."

She didn't work at all until the pub opened. "It took me three months to determine that, in terms of cheap labor, I was the answer."

Dividing her time between her job and her children, Lynn also finds the time to pursue charitable causes. In addition to working with Candlelighters, Lynn is planning a fund-raiser for one of her employees' children, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Lynn credits her generous nature with her parents, who were together until the day her father, Eugene, died in October 2002. (His nickname was Diddy, and Lynn and Brian created a special brew, Diddy's Lager, in his honor. In addition, you can find Diddy's Irish Stew on the menu.)

As much as Lynn enjoyed her time off, she is grateful to be able to give back to her community, and she feels her psychology degree is paying off.

"I don't encounter really that many difficult people, but you can either deal with people or not," she said. "I feel I can empathize and be appropriate."

Still, Lynn said she would sometimes rather be working behind the scenes.

"Would I rather stay back in the kitchen? Yes, but sometimes I feel like this is the role I have," she said. "There's a connection you feel with people, and the good things that happen here are because of the people."

For the time being, the McMullans have no plans to expand operations, and no plans to move.

"You never get used to July and August, but we love it here, and the kids are really enjoying it here," Brian said.

Lynn said Ross is beginning to show his parents' athletic acumen in hockey.

"He dreams he's going to be a hockey player," Lynn said. "He's a happy guy."

"And he's got his father's brains," Brian said.

"Hopefully not," Lynn replied.

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