Chris Flynn: The Zany Wizard of Metuchen

Chris Flynn and his date...

"Zany" is a great word. It connotes both "crazy" and "fun." I've always liked "madcap," too. All four words fittingly describe Chris Flynn, owner/proprietor of  a Metuchen pub that has become a fixture in the Brainy Boro--Hailey's Harp & Pub on Main St.

The place has been packed since it opened four years ago, and that's because "Crazy" Tim Flynn is crazy like a fox. From outstanding pub grub to a scintillating array of craft beers, from popular beer dinners to  to the ultra-popular Beer Senates, from shuffleboard tourneys to ping-pong tourneys, Flynn is always looking for ways to attract people into his special brand of  "craic."

And he's finding them. His usually packed houses are proof that he may be the reincarnation of PT Barnum. Nobody who frequents Hailey's, however, ever gets "suckered." Sucked into Flynn's madcap zaniness, maybe, but never suckered.
His clientele is demographically varied in age, and  the place is usually jumping. In the middle of it all is P.T. Flynn, serving as host, bar buddy even cheerleader.

He has help, of course. Besides his capable staff, his right hand man is Moshe Atzbi, whose picture is next to the word "versatile" in the dictionary. Moshe is not only a talented cook, he has a knack for selecting good beers that are popular with the pub clientele. I learned today that Moshe has now assumed the dual roles of both barman and head chef, and he doesn't seem to mind his longer days at all. (But he's young. That will change.)

Here's a perfect example of Chris Flynn's out-of-the-box thinking. On July 28, Hailey's is sponsoring a bus trip to Stoudt's Brewery in Adamstown, PA. The attendees will assemble at Hailey's at 9 AM (to "cocktail down" as Chris puts it), ride to Adamstown, sample their fine beers and breads, and then return, feted and sated, at 5 PM.

Carol Stoudt of Stoudt's Brewing

The cost of the bus? Zero. (Perhaps that's why the trip is now filled.) And since Flynn was advised that no beer is allowed on the bus, he's bringing an ample supply of Bloody Marys and other libations to help his guests "ease on down the road."

Chris and pals at a Super Bowl craic...

It could be a triple-craic--craic down, craic there and craic back. One might assume that trip back would be rather sedate, what with all that previous "craicing" going on, but that's only if Chris Flynn is himself "craiced out."

                                                               
But no one has ever seen that happen.
And therein lies the reason Hailey's Harp & Pub is thriving.