Johnny Mac’s owner John McGillion may have won the war but lost an important battle during Monday night’s final site plan approval for the expansion project that carries from his flagship Johnny Mac’s House of Spirits at 208 Main Street to the 212 Main Street location of Mary Mac’s. While Planning Board members unanimously granted […]

Cameo Bar, a watering hole on Main Street that caters to the gay population, will move to a space in downtown Asbury Park. Johnny Mac’s House of Spirit’s owner John McGillion confirmed his plan to relocate the bar to 722 Mattison Avenue, in the old Tabernacle of Glory church location. McGillion closed purchase on the […]

Now that Main Street restaurant Bistro Olé has closed, Johnny Mac’s House of Spirits owner John McGillion will use the area to increase the restaurant space of Mary Mac’s, one of the new businesses included in plans for a large-scale expansion of Johnny Mac’s. Initial renderings of the complex showed new bar and restaurant Mary Mac’s would […]

New local watering hole Kim Marie’s Eat ‘n Drink Away has opened its doors to the public. It took owner John McGillion — the John of Johnny Mac’s House of Spirits — over a year to renovate the old Adriatic Restaurant location at 411 Kingsley St. where Kim Marie’s now sits. “It took a lot of work,” he said. […]

Four bars may be one too many for a local entrepreneur. With a multi-phase project in the works on Main Street, a new bar and restaurant in the final stages on the waterfront and the recent acquisition of the landmark Cameo Bar, restaurateur John McGillion, owner of popular Main Street tavern Johnny Mac’s House of […]

John McGillion, owner of Johnny Mac House of Spirits on Main Street, is under contract to add another liquor establishment to his portfolio of Asbury Park properties. McGillion has bought the Cameo bar, housed in a landmark art deco structure on Main Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues, he said. The closing of title on […]

The planning board last night voted to grant Johnny Mac House of Sprits owner John McGillion permission to begin construction on a large-scale project that includes a beer garden, mezzanine structure and a new bar atop the current Bistro Olé restaurant. The vote passed 4-1. Planning board member Robert Feinstein voted no. It was McGillion’s fourth […]

John McGillion — owner of Johnny Mac House of Sprits on Main Street — has a new concept for the former Adriatic restaurant site on Kingsley Street. Original plans were for the Candy Bar, catering to the gay community, but McGillion will now open a bar at that location named Kim Marie’s, he said. Kim […]

Business owners and residents throughout the city are getting ready for Sunday’s LGBTI Pride celebration. The event, now in its 22nd year, features a parade, rally and street festival on Sunday, June 2. Homeowners and store owners are adorning their property with rainbow flags in support of Pride Weekend, the largest of which can be […]

Plans for a bar serving a gay clientele at the former Adriatic restaurant site have been changed to a “gay-friendly” restaurant, owner John McGillion said this week. The Candy Bar, at 1409 Kingsley St., was originally conceived as a bar to attract a gay demographic. McGillion wants to operate it as a restaurant instead because […]