O'Lacy's

It was with a "heavy heart" that owner Roger Christiano closed O'Lacy's on School Street in Batavia Wednesday, 18 months after he took over the popular Irish pub in 2022 from former owner Kent Ewell.

Christiano posted a letter on the door of the site that explained:

It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that I will be stepping away from O’Lacy’s Irish Pub and closing the business effective today.

My wife’s declining health has left me unable to spend the time, resources, and energy that O’Lacy’s customers and staff deserve. While it saddens me to leave, I must put my family first and focus on my wife’s long-term care.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. It’s been a pleasure meeting so many wonderful patrons over the past 18 months. Hopefully the business will reopen under different ownership in the future.

A special thank you to Kent Breslin and the O’Lacy’s staff for all their time and dedication to this very special establishment. 

With gratitude, Roger Christiano

Ewell owned and operated O'Lacy's for more than 25 years before he bid his farewell to patrons. 

Press release:

Press release:

On Saturday (April 15), O'Lacy's Irish Pub will celebrate 20 years of business in Downtown Batavia.

The all-day celebration will feature specials and giveaways. Live Celtic music will kick off at 8 p.m. by the Rochester group called "Himself."

The public is invited to come celebrate at the pub and enjoy anniversary cake, which will be served at about 8:30 p.m.

The celebration and band will continue until 11 p.m.

O'Lacy's is located at 5 School St. in the City of Batavia.

This history was provided by proprietor Kent R. Ewell:

In 1996, a small, single-story woodframe building (which was the former Darien Knitting Mill), was purchased and torn down. Soon a new building arose shaped and resembling a small Irish cottage and on April 15, 1997 O’Lacy’s Irish Pub opened for business!

Owners at that time, Kent and Nancy Ewell, decided to keep O’Lacy’s as authentic as possible. The menu (which had not changed much) featured American and Irish items as well as some very popular specialty sandwiches. The bar started with 12 draft beers but soon expanded to 16, which currently exist now. The beer is all “pushed” with nitrogen and their lines are only 14-feet long, which makes for a smoother cold one! Guinness is their featured beer. In 2010 O’Lacy’s won the Guinness “Best Pour” in NY State. Quite a feat for small-town Batavia! 

O’Lacy’s also created, organized and ran nine St. Patrick’s Day Parades -- the first and only St. Patrick’s Day parades in Batavia’s history. Along with the parades they have run several charity events through the years; donating to many organizations such as the Richmond Memorial Library, Crossroads House, Toys for Christmas, UMMC, Volunteer for Animals, and many others too numerous to mention.

Present owner Kent Ewell has held his own in the Market Place and has no plans for any extreme changes. He is proud of his staff, thankful for the friendly, quality patrons who enjoy stepping into a bit of “The Old Sod”!

Photo: By Howard Owens

As you may well know, today is the day when everyone is Irish; it is St. Patrick's Day. Few better places to be than your favorite pub for a celebration. O'Lacy's Irish Pub is first to come to mind on this day for many. As the size of the crowd at the pub proved, this is the place to be in Genesee County. (Divine Reuben sandwiches, if we may say so.)

Plenty of good times to be had at Center Street Smoke House right around the corner, too. Dancers from McMahon School of Irish Dance will be doing some jigs at 6 p.m. and then there's an encore performance at 7. There will be live Irish music provided by The Heenan Brothers, corned beef & cabbage dinners, special on Miller Lite -- 20 ozs. for 5 bucks.

Enjoy St. Pat's Day, but don't drink and drive!