posted by Mike Madison at 1:12 PM /
I couldn't go to the First Friday celebration or the Mt. Lebanon ULTRA Party last night. I've heard one report already that the whole thing was groovy, baby, as Austin Powers might say. What did you think?
Labels: first fridays, ultra party, young lebo
27 Comments:
Personally, I thought it was fantastic. I went up with my wife and 3 kids (11, 9 and 5) around 7:15. We expected to stay until about 8:30 or so. Then the street started to fill up, the band kicked in, and next thing we knew it was 10:30. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and more importantly everyone seemend well behaved (at least while we were there). In fact, even the police officers I spoke with seemed to be relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere.
The event was targeted for the 25-35 set, and I think the organizers really hit their mark. Young people were everywhere, but I ran into a larger contingent of our more senior residents as well. Everyone I talked to felt that something like this was long overdue and should be done again and again.
Like anything elese, there are some kinks that probably need to be worked out (i.e. I saw nothing to prevent a person with an "over 21" bracelet from buying as many beers as possible for someone under age), but I hope that logistical issues like that don't prevent us from having more events like this uptown.
Kudos to the organizers!!!
We heard - no confirmation on this - that the organizers planned to hit 1,000 and got 4,000, raising about $50K, which far exceeded expectations.
That's wonderful for LEBO, for the Autism Center and for Mt. Lebanon - at least the Uptown business district.
We were there until about 11pm. Everything seemed cool on the street. We know Caruso's did tremendous business.
The only complaint we heard of was there were too few portapotties available for recieving all that free Lite Beer and that by 10:30pm they were in a condition where the ladies in the crowd were not happy about using them.
Surely that's something that can be fixed for next time.
I thought the event was great. My sister (19) came to visit us for the weekend and it was nice to be able to go and enjoy the music and the community. I was happy to see that it was not limited to individuals over 21, which encouraged families to enjoy the event.
While I was there everyone was acting very responsibility and having a great time.
Hopefully we will have more events like this!!
I know we shouldn't over do these types of things, but maybe they should change the 1st Fridays to include this ULTRA party next year. I thought it was great and it was for a great cause. Lebo needs more of these types of parties.
I also think maybe Saturdays would be better. The 1st thing I saw after I parked was a car running into a female pedestrian. Fridays on Route 19 is not the best time....
I thought that this was a fantastic event. I am however disappointed in Molly Brannigan's decision to charge a 4 dollar cover and have a competing band. Mt. Lebanon handed them 4,000 potential customers and they took advantage of us.
On a positive note, places like Ona stayed open until at least 10 pm and seemed to have large crowds.
Foster Area Resident
I thought it was great and very well organized. The worst part was simply the number of people competing with the tables set up on the narrow sidewalks. My suggestion would be to close Washington Road an hour earlier so that the people wouldn't have to fight the traffic. Did we really need politicians and wanna-be's there as well?
Hello all from the Autism Center....
I can assure you we did not hit $50,000. We would be doing cartwheels down Washington Rd. (Which would truly be something to see.)
I am, however, reading your comments and taking them into consideration for next year. I agree that we needed more portable facilities.
As far as the underage drinking issues, there were undercover folks in the crowd looking for underage drinkers. We carded EVERYONE. And I do mean EVERYONE. We were very serious about underage drinking.
Molly Brannigan's behavior was reprehensible. They didn't donate one dime to the autism center and were allowing people to take drinks into the street, including hard liquor. From what I understand they were cited about 3 or 4 times from the LCB.
Making money off of the backs of the LEBO group and those who worked so hard from the Autism Center is despicable, so I hope many of you will take note and patronize other establishments.
If you have any comments, questions or would like to make suggestions for next year, please feel free to email us -- info@autismcenterofpittsburgh.com
You'll be happy to know that while we didn't make anywhere NEAR $50,000, it is definitely enough to start a Center in the South Hills.
We will keep our word.
Thanks to all of you for your support. It was a great time, and I hope you enjoyed yourselves! We'll be back next year!
I heard Rep. Matt Smith's office was instrumental in the group getting a permit from the LCB. Can anyone confirm?
Great event - look forward to it next year!
I thought it was a great event for a great cause.
Instead of going elsewhere for dinner, how about asking the management of Molly's to designate an evening where 15% of profits go to the autism center? If enough of us do that, they would understand the expectations this community has of them. That way, the children get needed funds, and we don't lose another valuable asset along Washington Road. Just a thought....
Thought it was well done and everyone had a great time. I hope they do it more often. Maybe more trash cans next time! My 60 year old in-laws were there until 10! Now that's impressive.
--Business owner who was thrilled to have 2,000+ people in the street!
Yes..State Representative Matt Smith was instrumental in helping LEBO get the permit from the LCB in order to have this event on the street.
Cindy W.
"Making money off of the backs of the LEBO group "
As someone affiliated with the Washington Road BPA, let me be the first to give you and the LEBO group a collective "I told you so".
Non-participating business owners taking advantage of a Washington Road event...Shocker
I applaud the effort, but we've been through this fight before. There are jaded business owners who will always say "it's not my crowd", "this never works" and "I didn't ask for this", and yet you'll see those hypocrites with doors wide open stuffing their pockets with cash. These are the same business owners who operate pretty much as a hobby because they were already independently wealthy.
I'm not putting Molly's in this same category. In fact, I'll bet they likely had entertainment booked well in advance of this
event, and were probably not approached about plans that included free drinks and live entertainment.
"I'm not putting Molly's in this same category."
What's that saying... if the shoe fits?
Hrm.
Molly's went up for Sheriff sale this week.......
347 Sept 07 aka 399 Aug 07. Pittsburgh Irish Pubs, LLC
GD-05-23271—$597,968.36
Joseph A. Fidler, Esq.
Grenen & Birsic, P.C.
412-281-7650
All the following described real estate situated in the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, Cty of Allegheny, PA. Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 660 Washington Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. DBV 12205, pg 89, B/L #141-F-38-1.
I can tell you that Molly's was approached months ago regarding involvement with the event, and they declined. They were also informed that they could apply for an extension of premises for the evening if they wanted to sell alcohol outside of the establishment (for which they would not be required to donate or have any other direct involvement with the evening's event other than benefitting from the crowd), and they chose not to apply for it.
I attended the car show last month on Washington Rd. with some out-of-town friends, and we decided to have lunch at Molly's. The service was poor and the place had a decent crowd, and when I asked about it, the manager had very unkind words for the car show organizers. He was not happy at all that the event was taking place. I commented that he should be thrilled with the business it's bringing in, and he said something about not having enough staff to handle it. It was not surprising to me to see yesterday's filing, as that attitude is not conducive to building a business.
My name is Colm McWilliams and I am one of the owners, and CEO, of Molly Brannigans. I am not quite sure how Mollys ended up in the middle of this controversy but I thought you might be interested in "the rest of the story", or at least our side of it.
Let me first of all applaud LEBO, and in particular Anne Fleming Babish for doing a fantastic job in pulling off this event. Having run street/block parties ourselves in various locations, and currently planning one for a charity in Spetember, I can appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into making it such a successful night. Again, congratulations!
We were approached a number of months ago by Anne, the president of the LEBO group about sponsoring this event. We were asked to contribute thousands of dollars to an event at which a competing vendor would be brought in from somewhere else to sell beer in direct competition with us. The prices would also undercut our prices as the beer would be donated. After some discussions with Anne we declined the offer. Our hearts go out to children, or indeed anyone, with autism and their loved ones. The fact remains, however, that we simply cannot support every charity that asks us. The two primary charities we support, companywide, are Breast Cancer and the American Heart Association. At that time we had offered a percentage of sales to Anne but while she appreciated that gesture she needed a firm committment for a specific dollar amount. She had a band to pay, expenses to cover, etc. and we could not make that committment to her which I fully understand she needed to get from someone.
We were uninvolved in the process from there on, other than staffing extra for that night as we were as optimistic as Anne was for the success of the night and had been caught short handed at events like these before. We simply ran our business as normal, which included the live entertainment that we have committed to on weekends in order to try to build our business there.
The next time I heard of this was on the actual event night, when one of my employees was accosted by a lady in the street. I received a phone call while at dinner with my wife and children in Erie. I dropped them home and drove to Mt. Lebo, firmly believing it is always best to address issues head on. When I got there my employee pointed out the lady and I approached her and introduced myself but was told by her that she wouldn't speak to me. She did, however, announce from the stage that people should not buy anything from us which seems an odd way to promote Lebo business'. She also brought a police officer to our premises in order to have us stop selling alcohol, another "promotion" that wasn't particularly helpful. This week and last I have placed phone calls to her and left messages which were not returned. I also received a nasty letter from her using such words as "reprehensible"(seems to be a favorite), "Appalling", "disgraceful", "spiteful", "vindictive", "malicious", among others, about me. Mollys is also on the receiving end of some less than complimentary posts on this blog from the same lady. I challenge that person to look in the mirror, examine her actions and bahavior in this, and see where else those words could be applied.
In addition, for the record...
We did not sell beer or hard liquor on the street. We sold beer in our fully licensed establishment and patio. It is fully within the law for a patron to take a beer out of our premises. You can buy a six-pack from any bar in town for example. We did not sell "hard liquor", other than inside, and had two people posted at the door to ensure nobody left with liquor.
We did not apply for extension of premises specifically so as to not compete with LEBO and the event on the street. We did, however, offer use of our license, via extension of premises, to them which they declined as they had secured one elsewhere.
We were not cited or fined "several times" as one post suggests as we did not break any law.
We did do everything in our power to "take advantage" of the 4,000 potential customers on the street, rather than close at 8:01, as did most business' on the street. Indeed, I believe our building was a vacant "eyesore" for many years before we purchased it, giving anyone the same opportunity.
Although it seems to ring very hollow to me, I want to believe the post that says "Those business' who did profit and who did do well - WE ARE ALL HAPPY FOR YOU. THe majority of the event was to showcase Mt. Lebanon". From some of you it feels more like Hi-Yaaa when he/she says (in jest I hope) "Let's do all we can to rip on Molly Brannigans so we can create another vacant storefront".
Finally, in the spirit of "let bygones be bygones" I will offer again to the Autism center, and indeed to any other interested charity that we will donate a precentage of a designated day's sales (food only - can only imagine the posts if we actually did break the law). The ball is firmly in your court so please contact us if you are interested. I will not be posting again as I don't feel it behooves me to wage a PR campaign here. I did feel, though, that it was important that you received both sides of the story.
Thank You
Wow... "accosted." I accosted someone? Mom of two children with autism accosts bar maid in the street. LOL. And you take issue with my use of the word "reprehensible?" Humorous.
Secondly, what I told you was, I don't want to talk about this RIGHT NOW when you approached me. Yes, let's have a discussion about the whole situation while I'm trying to run an event with 3,000 people in the street. Great idea. What I said to you was... I'm not talking to you about this RIGHT NOW.
Third....I didn't say "don't buy from Molly's." I said -- please buy Miller products because they're the ones who sponsored the event.
Also -- I haven't had an opportunity to call you back. Yesterday when you called, I was on the other line with a mother whose 2 year old son was just diagnosed and she was hysterically crying. Forgive me if I thought that was more important.
Strange recollection you have. Where'd you get those rose colored glasses? Clearly they are what you use to look in the mirror.
You know what you did, along with the Autism Center and LEBO volunteers, and many of the patrons. We weren't even the first ones to bring it up on the blog -- it was others who noticed it.
In fact, one of the other sponsors actually came into your establishment (another local business owner) and really let you have it! Deservedly so.
I hope that Molly's is sold quickly and that another restaurant or establishment moves in expediently to lessen the impact on the Mt. Lebanon business district. I feel badly for the other businesses, but certainly not you. Your actions speak (spoke) for themselves.
Too bad the Autism Center doesn't have the money, I'd love to buy it.
Cindy W.
I cannot say enough about theintelligent thoughtful young adults of LEBO who formed LEBO then proceeded to organize and plan the first ULTRA PARTY Each gave generously of their time and talents to make this event happen (Anne Fleming Babish, Joe Ravita and Brett Satterfield).
It was wildly successful beyond their hopes Cudos to the Autism Center of Pgh who signed on early to assist. They had little expectation but to bring recognition to their disored and cause. Their people gave tirelessly assisting in all aspects of the event. The Chinese auction table was terrific, the volunteers organized it!
EVERY SINGLE PERSON was carded who purchased a wrist band that evening (I was carded and I am 54. The bands were great, the weather--a little too well!
Thank you to the MT Lebanon Police. You were present but unobtrusive and seemed to enjoy yourselves as well. From my vantage point everyone was having a wonderful time and it is evident to everyone who attended that these types of events are needed for all kinds of reasons. It is certain that more trash cans are needed for next year and a few more port-a-potties wouldn't be a bad idea either!
As part of the volunteer staff, I observed behavior that was not supportive of the event. The staff from OUTREACH made their displeasure known--forcing the Chinese Aution table to be moved as it blocked their door when their employees were leaving for the night at 5pm anyway. Odd. The only other unpleasant encounter was instigated by Molly's. Before ULTRAparty even began, they advertised their entertainment for the evening, a band they hired from First Friday (why?), the $4 cover charge ($1 less than LEBOs cover charge--why?), and drink specials for the night (non-Miller products--and FYI...Miller sponsored the ULTRAparty) on a COORS (Miller's competition) sandwich board outside the restaurant. Molly's choice to offer entertainment that evening was very thoughtful and well-planned. It was as if because the ULTRAparty did not support Molly's charities, then they did not need to be involved, at all. Except, of course, to gain from LEBO's advertising and crowd. Why counter the efforts of LEBO and the Autism Center, when Mt. Lebanon stood the most gain, including Molly's, as they had prime location for exposure that evening? Interesting. Their waiters also refused to serve LEBO event staff wearing volunteer shirts before the event even started, who were simply trying to get dinner during First Friday. As far as Molly's being cited. If they haven't yet, they most certainly should bevery soon via the mail, as NUMEROUS LCB officers were on site, citing their illegal actions. Because acoording to PA LCB laws, Molly's was indeed permitted to sell alcohol from the restaurant, but A-not over their patio to passers-by and B-to customers leaving the restaurant with drinks in hand. The Director of the Autism Center very kindly asked ULTRAparty goers to support the event by purchasing wristbands and buying beer from Miller Brewing, as they were the gracious sponsor for the evening. Why on Earth would LEBO not have made that announcement, it was their benefit? She did not mention any establishment by name.
All negativity aside it was an awesome event. Thanks to John McGinley, owner of Wilson-McGinley Distributor (a Miller distributor and Mt Lebanon native),Rolliers Hardware--who donated all proceeds from the hotdogs and water stand, to Jackie and Scott Funt (Mt Lebanon Dermatology)--financial supporters,
Susan Morgans for her advice and guidance and finally, Represenative Matt Smith--who secured the ETOH permit.
As a Mt. Lebanon native, I'm thankful and excited that Mt. Lebanon hosted the ULTRAparty! What a unique and successful event that we should be proud to host! We hope to party again next year!!!
I believe that a sign in Molly Brannigan's window advertises "live entertainment" (or bands) on Friday and Saturday nights. I did not attend the event so I cannot weigh in, but I know that Molly's has donated to other charities in town. I think Molly's is a wonderful addition to Washingtown Road. I appreciated hearing the other side of the story from Mr. McWilliams. All of this bashing of a local establishment is not good for Mt. Lebanon businesses and is certainly not good for the Autism Center.
I wish continued success to both Molly's and the Autism Center. Remember: What goes around comes around! Karma is a powerful thing!
I personally was one of the folks who came with the Autism Center and I can say, hands down, that Molly's was at fault.
Anyone who thinks what they did was ethically okay is wrong.
Mr. McWilliams says the Autism Center's words are "hollow" in that they are happy other businesses made money, but to me, nothing is more hollow than the post-facto offer to hold a fundraiser.
Keep your money. Parents of autistic kids in the South Hills don't need it. The Autism Center is an awesome place that cares about kids and they don't need your money.
-- Autism parent
The Autism Center has helped my child immeasurably. I was there on the night of the event as a volunteer. I worked in front of Molly's handing out flyers. They were most definiately selling beer and liquor to be taken out on the street. I was standing right there.
If the managements attitude is anything like it was the night of the party, no wonder they're going out of business.
I am not sure I understand the arguments put forth about why everyone is so anti-Mollys. Bad service asside, does MB have an obligation to support charities? No. Their only obligation is to make money for their investors. That is the basic nature of any business.
Would it have been in their best interest to support ULTRA Party and the Autism center, maybe, but who knows. They would have had a lot of problems with people trying to use their bathrooms getting in the way of their regular customers.
I get the sense that MB is being chastised for not supporting the Autism charity. If MB supported everyone who asked for money, they would never make any profit. They chose not to support Autism, move on.
Because they chose not to support Autism, should they have shut down for the nite and not tried to make their own profit. No way. They are just as entitled to run their business, as you are to run a charitable event. Just because ULTRA Party dropped the event in front of MB, does not obligate them to support it. Maybe MB was smart to not get railroaded into supporting the event.
-Magnolia Man
I'd simply like to give my best to both the Autism Center and to Molly Branigan's. I do hope the two establishments can put any differences aside and realize that they have many things in common. Their paying customers or donors are coming from the same community, their challenges of running a business are going to be quite the same, and they will be working with many of the same workers of the municipality and government when they want to get things done.
I am afraid that if the Mt Lebanese are forced to choose sides, then both sides lose.
Best of luck to both of you.
*CitizenA*
If I were Cindy, there is NO WAY that I would move to Mt. Lebanon given some of the comments on this blog. It sounds like a community that wouldn't be very accepting of kids with autism anyway.
Giving a hard time to the autism center founder and director. Great PR for ML.
Citizen A:
Thank you for your comments. Most reasonable I've seen posted in awhile.
I think that Mr. McWilliams, myself and the LEBO group could come to some kind of understanding fairly easily.
I don't think any of us are truly interested in feuding. In the end, it doesn't accomplish much.
:-)
Cindy
I still can't figure out exactly what Molly Brannigans did that was so reprehensible. It's been difficult to separate the facts from the histrionics in this discussion.
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