SAN JOSE – They came in for a Guinness or an espresso martini. Some stopped for a snack after a memorial service or a pint after their kids soccer tournament or for a break while shopping. And on a chilly weekend afternoon under an elaborate stained glass ceiling adorned with shamrocks, they toasted to the end of Rosie McCann’s at Santana Row.
The Irish pub and restaurant, one of the first eateries to open at the upscale San Jose shopping center 20 years ago with a bar that had the latest last call at 1:30 a.m., will close April 20.
“It’s so friendly. It pulled us right in,” said Karolyn Dorsee who was in town from San Diego on Saturday and came in with friends. “Someone needs to fight for it!”
If only.
In a Facebook post Friday, owner Mina Shamsaei announced the news “with a heavy heart.”
“This was not an easy decision,” she wrote. “However, rising costs, declining sales, and the harsh realities of running a restaurant after the pandemic were too great for this small female run family business to continue.”
The Santa Cruz location will remain open.
The restaurant off Santana Row’s main thoroughfare features an elaborate dark wood bar with Irish classics on tap, a dance floor where live music is played on weekends, and a wall of recognitions as a “Best of Silicon Valley” Irish Pub. There’s even a framed photo of former President Bill Clinton who once came in for a book signing.
Despite being on the edge of a chic shopping center with luxury shops and high-end spas and Instagrammable streetscapes, Rosie McCann’s became a destination for those looking for a more laid-back atmosphere.
“It’s a little more relaxed, especially when everyone at Santana Row can be so bougie. There’s no one to impress when you’re here,” said Sergio Carrasco, who used to bartend at a nearby restaurant and is a regular patron at Rosie McCann’s. “When you come here, you forget you’re at Santana Row.”
The pending closure is a huge loss for Sharon Mendelson, who has been a regular since she lost her husband in 2008 shortly after they moved into a Santana Row apartment.
“It became sort of a safe place for me,” said Mendelson, a Silicon Valley engineer who grew up on the East Coast. “I didn’t want to come home to an empty apartment.”
She would come in for happy hours and “Sunday Fundays” and on karaoke night, she’d sing Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” She became so close with the bartenders and patrons, she has attended their weddings and made lifelong friends.
“People thought that my address was Rosie McCann’s, you know, where everybody knows your name,” she said. ”It’s an end of an era.”
It’s a heartbreak for the staff as well, including Renato Gonzalez who has been a server for eight years. Rose McCann’s was one of the first to open after the pandemic, he said, and they were packed. But the crowds have thinned, he said, and the rent is high.
“I’ll find another job,” he said. “I have no choice.”
On Facebook where owner Shamsaei announced the pending closure, Mendelson, who has since moved to Willow Glen, posted a comment.
“Don’t Stop Believing : ),” she wrote. “Rosies was there for me to meet some of my best people.”
“I’m crying right now,” chimed in Ely Martins on the Facebook page. She became one of Mendelson’s best friends from the pub.
“So many memories,” Martins wrote. “Thank you for fun times.”