Dublin comes town

By Jonathan Starkey
Staff Reporter

	Coastal Point • SHAUN LAMBERT The logo for Dublin Steakhouse and Erin’s Pub shows the dedication to traditional Irish custom that owner Sean Oates is instilling into the establishment.

Corned beef and cabbage combined with a glass of Harp. Dublin coddle followed by a dose of Murphy’s Red. Or a slice of shepherd’s pie washed down by a pint of Guinness. If those Irish combinations sound appealing to any Selbyville-area residents, they’re in luck.

Come May, the new Dublin Steakhouse and Erin’s Pub in the Mason Dixon Shopping Center on Route 13 will serve all of those Irish combos.

“The place was in a location that’s growing and there’s not a lot of restaurants,” said Sean Oates, the new restaurant and pub’s owner. And, he added, “Most of the Irish places around here aren’t remotely Irish.”

Oates — an Indian River High School special-education teacher — invested in the Selbyville spot but will leave its daily operations to his two adult children: Travis and Taunya.

Travis, 24, will run the kitchen and Taunya, 30, will run the dining room and pub areas, which will be on either side of the kitchen in the former Howard’s Pub building. Besides the Irish cuisine, the Dublin Steakhouse will serve steak and seafood, all of which will be “moderately-priced,” according to Oates.

Oates said that the Irish food will range in price from $8.95 to $12.95 while the standard cuisine will be more costly. Restaurant patrons will be able to purchase anything from shrimp from $13 or $14 to filet mignon for about $23.

“If you want a good steak and seafood meal, and you don’t want to go to Bethany, you can come here,” said Oates, who just settled on the property Saturday.

Oates — who is also the boys’ tennis coach at Indian River — said his 10-year teaching stint was actually his second career path. The restaurant business isn’t new.

For 10 years, he managed the dining and banquet rooms at the Lookout Restaurant and Lounge in the Fenwick Inn in Ocean City. After leaving the hotel, Oates then served as the general manager at Thompson’s Sea Girt House in the bustling Maryland coastal city for three years.

Though his kids will be running the restaurant and pub, Oates said his experience will help him keep an eye on its workings until Travis and Taunya get into a routine.

“I’m going to make my presence felt,” he added. “I’ll be here making sure everything is running smoothly.”

Besides the aforementioned Irish dishes, the restaurant will serve fish and chips, Guinness pot roast, and bangers and mash, which is Irish sausage served over mashed potatoes. On the pub side, Guinness, Harp, Murphy’s Red and Smithwick’s will be on tap every night.

Oates said the unique restaurant and pub menus, combined with his experience in Indian River schools, and his kids’ contacts should help the new restaurant see constant business early.

“I’m excited because my family has all gown up here,” said the Baltimore native. “My son and daughter have a lot of friends and I teach at the local high school. I think we’ll get the business to start out because we know people.”

But it won’t be the neighborhood connections that keep the customers coming back, Oates said.

“We have a good product. Once we get them in here, I think we can get them back.” At least, he added, “That’s the plan.”