The iconic, community staple will permanently close its doors on Sunday, May 31
By RANDY SEAVER | Editor
A beloved and iconic Biddeford tavern will be forever closing its doors on Sunday, May 31.
The news of Mulligan’s demise has left many residents scratching their heads, wondering what – if anything – will replace the friendly and relaxed, working-class pub that once featured $5 steaks and other affordable menu items.
“This is a sad day for Biddeford,” quipped longtime Mulligan’s patron Paul Burgess.
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Burgess and a few other regulars spent some time Monday trying to soak in the nostalgia and decades of memories that defined the Lincoln Street pub.
“Biddeford doesn’t really need any more micro-breweries and upscale food choices,” Burgess said. “We’re losing all the places where regular people felt comfortable and could order a meal without breaking the bank.”
Many observers said Monday that Mulligan’s closure seemed almost inevitable, based on recent events and changes in the tavern’s operations.
In January of this year, the restaurant — that once offered a wide range of traditional pub fare – permanently closed its kitchen, as its owners were desperately trying desperately to hang on to an unknown future that has endured a long list of punches over the last five years.
Located directly across the street from the upscale Lincoln Hotel and Batson Brewing, Mulligan’s was a last hold-out for long-time residents and visitors who wanted a more affordable and relaxed alternative.
“It feels a lot like just another step down on the long slide toward the total gentrification of Biddeford,” said one customer who asked to remain anonymous.
Cause and effect | The death of an institution
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Featuring several pool tables and a large, central bar, Mulligan’s represented the city’s gritty and historical manufacturing roots.
The two-story brick building was once, itself, part of a sprawling complex of downtown mill buildings the drove the city’s economy for more than 150 years, beginning in the latter part of the 19th Century.
Longtime patrons still remember when the tavern was known as Shelly’s, owned and operated by Shelly Pelletier.
There is nothing fancy nor nouveaux about Mulligan’s.
The interior features exposed brick and beam construction. Cast-iron pipes run across the ceiling.
Four pool tables draw regular billiards’ enthusiasts from throughout southern Maine.
In recent years, the tavern’s new owners attempted to capitalize on the large, open-space second floor for private events, open-mic nights and an incubator for local comics.
In the end, it was too little too late.
“It feels a lot like just another step
down on the long slide toward
the total gentrification of Biddeford”
“We did everything we could to keep it going,” said manager Jake DeLois, son of current owner Joe DeLois. “But there were so many things working against us – things we had no control over.”
George Sharkey – the man who put Mulligan’s on the map with a wide smile, a can-do attitude and a knack for marketing – died in 2017.
The transition to new ownership was anything but easy.
“We spent the first two years trying to reclaim that magic that George left behind,” said Jake DeLois. “In terms of straight revenue, 2019 proved to be the best year ever for Mulligan’s and then – COVID hit.”
The covid pandemic hit small businesses all across the country hard, but as if the pandemic was not enough, Mulligan’s was facing other challenges.
Biddeford was courting large and well-connected real estate developers to the city’s core.
The city’s downtown became a mecca for authentic cuisine, craft breweries and distilleries. A shifting and younger population began laying claim to an urban center that matched their higher incomes.
What was once a struggling downtown dominated by a regional trash incinerator is now a vision of a new vibrancy that caters more toward a newer demographic of younger residents with more disposable income.
A large dirt parking lot on the far side of Lincoln Street was suddenly taken off the rolls and given to real estate developers. Mulligan’s patrons were no longer allowed to park there.
The city also eliminated parking on one side of Lincoln Street. And then last year, Mulligan’s and many other downtown businesses took a significant blow during a six-month sewer upgrade project that caused downtown traffic and parking nightmares.
“Honestly, we should have closed three or four years ago,” DeLois said. “But we didn’t want to give up and just walk away. We know what this business means to so many people in the community. We didn’t want to throw our staff under the bus. We tried hard. It just wasn’t enough.”
DeLois said he is not sure what will happen to the popular tavern.
Stacy Rizas is a Biddeford native. She has been working at Mulligan’s for a little more than 15 years and is today the bar manager.
When asked what’s next, Rizas shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know, but it makes me sad.”
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