Deaths: Matty Maher of McSorley's Old Ale House in NYC-- Part 1: "Good Ale, Raw Onions, No Ladies"

From the January 16, 2020, Chicago Tribune  "Patriarch was steward to New York City institution, McSorley's" by Sam Roberts of NY Times.

MATTY MAHER  (1939-2020)

He died Jan. 11, 2020.

His family is only the third ones to own the venerable McSorley's in Manhattan's East Village since it
 opened in the mid-19th century.  He started working there as a bartender in 1964 as an immigrant from Ireland.  By the time he became bar manager its area, the Bowery, had become blighted and the bar was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Then, the bar lost a gender discrimination case in 1970 that forced them to open the place to women.  They had to delete the last two words of their slogan "Good Ale, Raw Onions, No Ladies."  Then a Health Department ordinance that banned smoking, but had the unintended consequence of encouraging customers to drink more.

--CooterBar