Sean McMullan, left, and Conn McMullan took full ownership of the Anglesea Pub in 2020. They came from Ireland and hope that the pub can bring the spirit of Irish pubs, where community thrives, to North Wildwood. Photo by Collin Hall
Story by Collin Hall
For over a hundred years, visitors from all over the world have trekked to North Wildwood, and have walked up the tall steps to what is now the Anglesea Pub. Those tall steps have led to many different establishments over the years. In the late 1800s, they led to the Germantown Hotel, where wealthy Philadelphians would congregate after a hunt or a fish. They once led to Bishop’s High Steps Bar. Now, they lead to the Anglesea Pub, where owner Sean McMullan and his staff work night and day to greet guests with “Irish hospitality.”
The Irish theming that defines the pub isn’t just for show. Sean McMullan came to North Wildwood all the way from seaside Carnlough, Ireland when he was only 18. This Irish legacy flows through every part of the pub as it exists today, and more than 30 years later, McMullan still calls the pub ‘home.’
He explained that, in the early 1990s, the job prospects in America were much better than they were back at home. “In my day, unemployment was rife,” he said; Ireland’s economy was struggling. Eager to find work upon arrival in North Wildwood, he took a brief stint at the Mariner’s Arcade at Morey’s Piers. But he fast found himself at the Anglesea Pub, where quickly rose in rank after the Irish owner sought him out.
McMullan shared his story on a rainy winter morning just after the pub opened its doors for the day. 5-mile island’s customary wind battered the door, but spirits were high at the pub. Staff, including McMullan’s girlfriend and “life partner” Megan Turner, laughed and around him as the day’s work unfolded. He explained that everyone is hands-on with every aspect of the job; he often finds himself behind the bar, in the kitchen as a line chef, or up late washing tables. “It’s just what we do,” he chuckled.
He has worked with this same intense dedication for decades. He said, “I was hired here as a fresh young lad over from Ireland looking for a new place to live, new challenges. I was 18 going on 19 at the time, I took a job as a janitor here in October of 1991. Before I knew it, I was a busboy, then a waiter, then a bartender.”
McMullan’s love for, and eventually his journey to, America was initially spurred by a love of football, specifically a love for the Philadelphia Eagles. He said that their green and white “obviously” drew his eye.
“I was an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan. I used to watch the whales play in the glory day of the 80s, with players like Mike Quick… and Randall Cunningham,” he shared. He said that American Football was popularized by servicemen who were stationed in many parts of Europe. McMullan and his childhood friends would play football “in the shadow of the Musgrave Park military base.”
Musgrave Park was active because the conflict between Ireland and Northern Ireland was still hot even in the 90s, he explained. “This was back when the conflict was going on, but we who played football were all best of friends… Catholic, Protestants, we all played together. There were no boundaries.” This love for the American sport, and the promise of a good job, caused McMullan to say: “I’m going to get over there one day.” And so he soon did.
McMullan has come to know Anglesea Pub and its staff very well over his 30-odd years of work there. This put him in a unique position to take over chief management when the previous owners, the Suppa family, took a step back. In 2020, McMullan finally took ownership of the pub when Mrs. Suppa stepped away from the business in her old age.
Through his decades in North Wildwood, McMullan has seen great change in Cape May County and in America as a whole. He remembers worrying about the Wildwoods’ condominium boom that took place in the early 2000s; he worried that the death of many long-standing local hotels would mean less business for the pub. These fears, he said, turned out to be largely unfounded, but the larger change he has observed is a general decline in younger year-round county residents.
“There’s evidence of fewer young people just looking at bars… the younger generation tend to stay at your bar later in the night, but the concentration of younger adults just isn’t here anymore.” He also said that, as time goes on, “a lot of the locals who have been here for years and years sell and go to the mainland or leave altogether. We see that as an issue coming up, that we become like Sea Isle where we don’t have as much of a year-round population.”
He puts much of the blame on a lack of affordable housing. “There’s just got to be affordable housing,” he said, and noted that it has been evermore difficult to find young workers in the county.
Still, McMullan is incredibly thankful for his staff, many of whom have been there for a decade or more. He, his staff, and his brother Conn work every day to bring the feel of a classic Irish pub to the Jersey Shore. He said, “Pubs are the center of everything in Ireland. People get to know what’s going on in town through the pub. My hometown has only 1500 people but there’s four pubs!”
This community feeling was especially prominent when Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey coast. Anglesea Pub, because of its high elevation, was able to open just a day after the storm receded. This brought hundreds of extra guests every day for weeks; locals would gather to discuss both the devastation and to rally around each other. “For the four weeks, every day was like a Saturday night. And I think that propelled me to stay open during that first winter where I was manager” he said.
Sean McMullan did not start Anglesea Pub, but he hopes that he can continue its legacy well into the future. He hopes that his daughter, Caitlin McMullan, can continue to bring smiles to North Wildwood, and can continue the Irish legacy he has worked so hard for so long to foster.