By Gina Horan
Couple Shares Passion for Community at McCracken’s Irish Pub
Dynamic Duo
Patrick Kelley and Melissa McCracken
Melissa McCracken met Patrick Kelley over a game of pool and pitcher of beer on the island of Oahu, where she was studying marketing and journalism at Hawaii Pacific University, and he was stationed as a United States Marine.
Fourteen years later, they are married and the proud, hard-working owners of the very popular McCracken’s Irish Pub in downtown Leesburg.
“We had been dreaming of this and planning every detail for years,” Melissa says.
The couple moved to Leesburg in 2012 and quickly became a part of the hospitality scene by tending bar in various locations.
“Our experience with local hospitality gave us the inspiration to open here,” Melissa says. “We also wanted to be a part of a downtown that had a heart for its locals. We waited and waited for the right spot, and when this space became available, we knew in our hearts it was perfect.”
They chose 719 W. Main Street at the gateway to downtown Leesburg for perfect visibility, great parking and a storefront feel.
Without financial assistance or investors, Melissa, 44, and Patrick, 37, spent months working together day and night to get the doors open while bartending elsewhere to cover their personal expenses. They finally opened in November of 2022.
“It took a lot to open, but it was worth it,” says Patrick, who built the bar and dining room from scratch, including the custom booths and bar top. He also refurbished used equipment found online or obtained from other restaurants.
Melissa designed the bar and food menus, did the marketing and crunched numbers. Together they tirelessly pushed through the endless paperwork, permits and red tape.
The result is a hugely successful business in an industry that sees a lot of failure.
They say they are grateful to belong to a supportive and friendly collective of like-minded entrepreneurs and business owners.
“We’re excited because we are in a little bit of a renaissance in downtown Leesburg,” Melissa says.
And McCracken’s is embedded in the community, starting with their valued employees.
“We’re like family,” Melissa says. “When we opened, we made a conscious decision to hire people who had a heart for service and really cared about the guest experience. So, we hand-picked a team that had that gift of being hospitality ‘lifers.’”
Melissa and Patrick are at McCracken’s every day to support their staff, and even treated their employees to a free Christmas Eve to be with their families.
“Patrick ran the kitchen, and I ran the bar,” Melissa says. “We just banged it out together.”
Since opening, McCracken’s has poured more than 9,000 pints of Guinness and served more than 82,000 guests. Now, Melissa and Patrick are expanding McCracken’s to the space next door to accommodate large parties and guests waiting to be seated. They also plan to add shuffleboard, foosball and dartboards for a dart league.
Melissa says that their biggest source of pride is that people show up not just to eat and drink but to hang out with her, Patrick and their team.
“Our core values are everything to us and include service, consistency, culture and community,” Melissa says. “If we can’t give good service, people won’t come back.”
As for the future, the couple plan to stay for the long haul and do what they do best, but with a bigger footprint.
“Our long-term goal is to open a second downtown concept,” Melissa says. “We love Leesburg and can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
On the Menu
McCracken’s Irish Pub offers something for everyone, which has been the plan from the beginning.
“We wanted to do a 50-50 combination of traditional Irish fare and classic American dishes to appeal to the masses,” Melissa says. “Sometimes you don’t want a shepherd’s pie, you just want a great burger, and we are happy to provide that option.”
Popular Irish-inspired entrees include fish and chips, shepherd’s pie and the corned beef and cabbage slaw sandwich. Classics include a BLT, pot roast dinner, loaded mac and cheese and a hand-smashed quarter-pound patty melt on rye.
There is one dish, however, that outsells them all.
“Hands down, the shepherd’s fries are the most popular with our crowd,” Melissa says. “It’s a shareable plate of thick-cut fries with shepherd’s pie mix, beer cheese, housemade Guinness glaze, sour cream and parsley, which everyone loves.”
For the late-night crowd, a limited menu includes fried calamari, buffalo fries and their signature pint of Shamrock Bacon, served in a Guinness glass.
No matter what time of day you visit McCracken’s, you’ll find a culture of service-oriented people, yummy food and community.
“We have created a home away from home here in Leesburg, and we love that we are a part of people’s everyday lives,” says Melissa.
Recipes
Irish Charm Cocktail
Whiskey Burger
Onion Sage Chicken
Fish Dip
Let us know!
Let us know!
Let us know!
Gina moved to central Florida in August of 2021 from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and spent 10 years as a fashion editor, columnist and food writer for The Knight Ridder Newspaper group. She was also a photo stylist and covered concerts, fashion shows and festivals all over Northern California. In 2000, she joined KSAN radio as a morning show co-host and produced the news and sports content there for 4 years. She also covered travel, events and the restaurant scene for KRON-Bay TV. She is a veteran bartender and has worked in hospitality on and off since high school. Her passions include travel, road trips, history books, baseball, tasting menus and most of all, landing in a new city with no map or guidebook. Gina lives in Oxford with her mom, cats and baby hamster.
