There is a new ownership team at the iconic Irish bar The Harp in Ocean Beach.
The new management lineup includes Miles Doughty, frontman for OB-based reggae-rock band Slightly Stoopid; long-time Sunshine Company bartender Steve Ashton; industry veteran Tyson Green, and Hodad’s company president/CEO Jeremy Diem.
Previous Harp’s owner Anthony Fleming, who transformed the former Marco’s Bar & Grill into an Irish bar in Ocean Beach at 4935 Newport Ave. more than 20 years ago, suffered a fatal heart attack in October 2023 at age 63. He had been trying to break up a fight outside the establishment. The new ownership quartet officially took over The Harp this year, appropriately enough, on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
After Fleming’s unexpected passing, Diem was asked to join his three friends and business partners who “had this dream and plan in their heads” to put their stamp on The Harp. He said the group had initially sought to purchase Cheswick’s West, also on Newport Avenue, but added that venture didn’t pan out.
The rest of the new ownership team then asked Fleming if he wanted in on their proposed deal to acquire The Harp. “I’m just honored they allowed me to be part of this group,” he noted adding, “They had this dream and they asked me to be the last link in it. “We put a bid in, got lucky, and got it.”
Asked if there were plans to enhance musical entertainment at The Harp, Diem said: “Without letting anything out too soon, there are going to be some amazing shows happening. There are some really good things coming.”
Diem admitted they all got a crash course in the Irish restaurant-bar business taking over on March 15. “After two months, everything seemed to happen in the final 25 minutes of that day,” he said adding none of them were even familiar yet with the daily operations of the business or even the layout of the building. “We said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s figure out this out.’ And, we did.”
Of opening an Irish bar on the busiest Irish holiday of the year, Diem noted, “It was a crazy weekend to open up but we made it happen.”
Diem said they had to let all the former employees at The Harp go before they could rehire them to reopen. “We said, ‘Let’s go. Do you want to start in two hours? Do you want to start tomorrow? Do you want to work this weekend? There were some amazing employees that we retained.”
Concerning proposed changes at The Harp, Diem noted out that “it is a work in progress. Right now, we’re making some big decisions on which route we’re going to take.” He pointed out however, “I don’t think we’re keeping everything they had on the menu before,” while adding “We want to come up with ‘really’ good bar food, something different than anyone else on Newport Avenue has. ”
In the meantime, Diem said the new ownership group is interested in transforming The Harp into “a place for all the locals, all of the community to eat with their families and kids during the day. “We want to create a summertime feel of having everyone in the community come and this be their spot, their hub, to hang out at.”
