O’Brien Is Opening Beef O’Brady’s

Popular franchise restaurant is opening in Malloyville
By Bo McMullian

Beef O’Brady’s opened Dec. 14 on S.R. 71 in the new strip mall behind Superior Bank. This is a national chain with 254 outlets nationwide, but there’s a difference with this franchise, according to co-owner Scott O’Brien.

“The owner operates the franchise and lives in the community,” O’Brien told the TIMES on Tuesday. “That’s one reason behind the success of this chain.” In fact, this Beef O’Brady’s is truly a family business since O’Brien will employ his daughter Salina as “front house manager” and her husband Brandon as kitchen manager. They all rent a home together in Indian Springs.

There are 25 TV screens in the “family sports pub” that show NFL games as well as NASCAR, the MLB and the NBA, O’Brien said. “The chain is famous for its chicken wings and hamburgers as well as the breast of chicken, the assortment of salads and a variety of great food.”

In addition to his family, O’Brien brings something else special to this franchise. He happens to be a great admirer of the Marianna area. He worked for a business here several years ago, he said, and has wanted to live here since. “I prefer this environment,” he explained. “I love the weather and I’m not a city person. I consider Jackson County to be a jewel and a treasure.” And he’s not just turning on the Irish charm (he’s of Irish Catholic descent). He really believes this.

His partner, Gary Long, is still in Bushnell, in Central Florida, where O’Brien has lived mostly since his family moved from Minnesota when he was eight years old. So they didn’t decide on Marianna, for Long’s third franchise and his first, O’Brien said, from studying demographics. They know and love the area. Gary likes to hunt up here.

So O’Brien scouted the area early this year and found the vacant lot beside Sonny’s Bar-B-Q. Chuck Neel Construction began building in September.

“We want to be a part of the community,” said O’Brien, 45. “I hope to retire here.” Pictures of many of the local high school and college ball teams festoon the walls of the pub already and the owners plan to sponsor a little league team.

Beer and wine are served at the bar but “only as a complement to the dining,” O’Brien said. “Our major emphasis is on the dining.”

A game room for kids includes 10 video games and planned for next year is a meeting room for up to 30 persons. The establishment will be open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner. Two shifts will employ 40 persons. For those 40 positions--already filled-- 500 persons filled out applications, O’Brien said.

Beef O’Brady’s was the brainstorm of Irish Jim Melody, who opened the first pub in Brandon, Florida in 1985.

An “Irish Blessing” greets all who enter the establishment: “May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Amen.