An Old Port tavern and popular gathering place for more than two decades announced it will close this Sunday, March 26.
Bull Feeney’s owner and founder, Douglas M. Fuss, said Wednesday in a news release that he made the difficult decision to close after one final weekend of operation. Bull Feeney’s opened 21 years ago.
Doug Fuss, owner of Bull Feeney’s, in 2020. Michele McDonald/Staff Photographer, file
“We just celebrated St. Patrick’s Day for the 19th time, taking great pride in being able to bring the incredible experience of St. Patrick’s Day at Bull Feeney’s to a generation born during the year we opened,” Fuss said. “We would like to thank the Portland community for supporting us for all of these years. A pub wouldn’t be a pub without the lively conversation, laughter, singing and dancing of its customers.”
Fuss did not rule out having a new owner take over the tavern. He encouraged “a motivated lover of pubs,” to contact him about pursuing ownership options.
Bull Feeney’s is located at the corner of Fore and Exchange streets and was named after John Ford, the movie director who grew up in Portland and played fullback on the Portland High School football team. His football nickname was “Bull.”
Bull Feeney’s opened on March 13, 2002. Over the years, it served traditional Irish food, seafood, steaks, pub fare and single malt Scotch whiskey as well as Irish and Maine draft beer.
The closure comes not long after one of its neighbors, the Old Port Tavern, closed. The Old Port Tavern on Moulton Street closed New Year’s Eve 2022, ending a 50-year stay in the heart of a waterfront district known for its lively nightlife and plethora of dining options.
Housed in the basement of the historic Mariners Church Building, the Old Port Tavern opened as a restaurant and bar in 1973.
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