McClenaghan’s, “one of the coziest dance haunts in the city…catering to people of all tastes” provided a decade’s worth of entertainment, food and drink to the Saultites of the 70s and early 80s.
Located on the corner of Queen and March Streets, McClenaghan’s Tavern was purchased in the early 70’s by Mike Quinn from Frank Shunock. Mr. Quinn described himself as ‘Irish as the shamrock’ and firmly believed that one did not have to be Irish to love an Irish tavern.
McClenaghan’s turned out not to be just a business venture for Mr. Quinn, but also played an important part in his personal life. It was at McClenaghan's where Michael met Sandra Denardo, who would later become his wife. In an interview with the Sault Star about McClenaghan’s, Sandra reminisced: "Boy, they rocked…a lot of marriages began there and a lot ended there."
McClenaghan’s Tavern had two lounges: The Part One Lounge and The Part Two Lounge. The Part One Lounge had a more relaxed environment often offering a soloist, usually a pianist, to entertain patrons. The Part Two Lounge offered a variety of entertainment, live music and dancing.
In September of 1972, The Part Two Lounge in McClenaghan’s had the distinct honour of presenting “Subway Elvis” straight from the subways of Toronto for his first-ever nightclub appearance in the Sault. They also hosted events such as the “Grease Ball Special”, where nightclubgoers were invited to dress in their favourite 50s styles and win a prize.
St. Patrick’s Day was of course a big event every year at McClenaghan’s. To quote Mike Quinn, it was the one place in town where “everything is strictly Irish that day. It’s our biggest day of the year. We’re packed from noon until closing.” Mr. Quinn continued, “It’s really quite an affair here - old and young come to celebrate.” On St. Patrick’s Day in 1978, they had sing-alongs of Irish tunes led by Greg Stephens on the organ and Judi and Jo-Ann Morgan singing. They offered special Irish dishes such as corned beef and cabbage, and of course, the requisite green beer was on tap in both lounges.
Even a member of the famous ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ family delighted the Sault by playing at McClenaghan’s. Steve Katerenchuk, whose stage name was Steve Rich, played the organ for 206 straight hours from noon on Nov. 28, 1976, until 2 a.m. Dec. 7, 1976, earning money for charity and a place for himself as the world record holder for continuous organ playing. After taking less than a week for a much-needed rest for his fingers, he graced McClenaghan’s patrons with a performance on Dec. 13, 1976, in the Part One Lounge.
Local band Sea Fox was a frequent presence at McClenaghan’s, playing set after set of “medium rock and roll and middle of the road music” to the crowds in Part Two Lounge. Sea Fox was made up of Bryan Primeau, Ronny Clark and Jerry Burns, all Saultites. Proprietor Mike Quinn said “they’re one of the most danceable groups in Sault Ste. Marie” in an interview during the summer of 1976.
In 1977, McClenaghan’s acquired a new look and a new name for its lounges. The ‘quiet time lounge,’ Part One, was renamed ‘Kristie’s Barbeque Pit.’ Part Two, McClenaghan’s second lounge, was renamed ‘Jason’s Lounge’ and continued to offer popular musicians.
The first artist to play in McClenaghan’s lounge when it opened was Gerry Plant, who was also brought back to celebrate their new look and new lounge names in 1977. Mr. Plant was a solo entertainer, an organist-guitarist from Burlington who played to open Kristie’s Lounge. The second lounge, Jason’s, continued to offer the popular dance trio Sea Fox as their main attraction.
In the summer of 1980, things got a little more risqué at the tavern. Patrons could now be witness to or even participate in weekly wet t-shirt contests for a cover charge of $1, and the lucky winner would walk away 50 dollars richer. Originally the contests were meant to be a monthly treat, but the first one was such a success, what with the participants on stage foregoing their shirts completely and one enterprising young woman even divesting herself of her pants, that they became weekly entertainment.
A hint of scandal touched the tavern in 1980 and again in 1981.
On April 12, 1980, exotic dancer Maria Diaz was charged following a performance of her exotic dance in Jason’s Lounge at McClenaghan’s Tavern.
On Feb. 6, 1981, a second case involving an exotic dancer performing at McClenaghan’s Tavern occurred and dancer Alvena Tracy Gagne was charged and found guilty of giving an ‘indecent performance’ that was termed ‘immodest to the point of being obscene’. On this date, the city police morality squad was called to McClenaghan’s after a complaint was made by a patron at the tavern, and they attended the dancer’s performance at the downtown lounge. As a result, the Sault Ste. Marie morality police squad charged that Ms. Gagne did “unlawfully perform in an indecent performance, to wit, a dance in a theatre.”
Consequently, Steve Conway, the tavern’s operator at the time, was charged with ‘permitting an indecent performance.’ However, the charge was later dismissed in provincial court.
McClenaghan’s had begun hiring exotic dancers in February of 1980 after seeing the success of such ventures in other establishments. An agency was contacted to hire out the dancers, who were provided with the stipulation that they must keep their G-strings on and no nudity was allowed. The tavern also conferred with lawyers and officers of the city police morality squad about the legal aspects of having exotic dancers perform in their lounge.
Mr. Conway had the dancers sign contracts outlining their obligations and instructed the bartender that the stage lights were to be immediately shut off if the dancers deviated from the agreed-upon routines. Mr. Conway also watched several performances by Ms. Gagne at the start of the week and had no reason to believe she would deviate from her routine. However, on the night of the “indecent performance”, Mr. Conway was not in the building, the bartender was busy working the floor and did not see what was happening on the stage, and the substitute bartender had not been given the same instructions regarding the routine of the dancers.
Taking all this information into account, Judge Greco, who was presiding over the case against Mr. Conway, ruled that he “did not have actual knowledge of the indecent performance by Ms. Gagne...and had taken reasonable precautions to see that indecent performances were not presented in his premises.”
A more sombre event took place at McClenaghan’s on Nov. 17, 1980, when two men robbed the tavern. Michael Basawa and Albert Guay were convicted of robbery in the hold-up of a 35-year-old woman who was working as a barmaid in the Kristie’s Lounge. The Assistant Crown Attorney at the time, Glenn Waysliniuk, told the court during the trial that “Mr. Basawa and Mr. Guay had been in one of the tavern’s lounges drinking during the afternoon…the two men spent most of the time in….Jason’s Lounge. About 3:45 the two men…went into the other room known as Kristie’s Lounge.” The barmaid working in that lounge told the court the lounge was empty when the two men came in and asked her to call them a cab. Mr. Guay asked for a beer and threw a dollar bill on the counter near the barmaid. Mr. Basawa then walked around behind the bar and “threw his arm around her neck from behind and said, ‘I’ve got a knife. Give me the money in the till or I’ll kill you.’” The woman said she was terrified and punched open the till, which Mr. Basawa, who was still holding her, grabbed with one hand. While this was happening, the other man, Mr. Guay, “just stood there laughing and he said to the other man ‘you’re crazy’ a couple of times”, the unnamed woman recounted. Both men grabbed handfuls of cash before dragging her to the end of the counter, a hand still around her neck, and shoved her. Mr. Basawa and Mr. Guay ran out of the building with the money but were later arrested and convicted of robbery.
Through ups and downs, from “Subway Elvis” to Guinness World Record holders, McClenaghan’s entertained the people of Sault Ste. Marie. For a decade, they enjoyed great dining, dancing, and evenings filled with their favourite beverages and entertainment. The proud Irish pub, under proud Irish management, eventually closed its doors in the early 80s leaving a shamrock-shaped hole in downtown Sault Ste. Marie and in the hearts of many patrons who made “McClenaghan’s Their Happy Habit.”