PATRICK’S PUB SIGN, Little Neck

by Kevin Walsh

I moved to Little Neck from Flushing on July 1, 2007 and had long heard of Patrick’s Pub on Northern Boulevard off Little Neck Parkway even before I got there, as I had heard that it was a gathering spot for New York Mets and Jets fans and players (how much of that was true, I don’t know). It was opened by Frank Mockler in 1966 after his recipe for Irish coffee was a hit at the 1964-65 World’s Fair. In 2004, the 76-year-old Mockler and co-owner brother Patrick Mockler sold the bar to a group of investors. The building in which the bar was located was knocked down with its neighbors and a mini-mall was built on the site. Frank Mockler died in 2020 at age 92.

By the time I arrived in 2007, the Scobee Diner directly across Northern Boulevard from Patrick’s Pub was the unofficial capital of Little Neck; the diner first opened in 1965 and in the 1970s opened a new building. In my early Little Neck years, the diner was an unofficial headquarters for me as I would have a meal once a week while watching the traffic go by, and brought in out-of-neighborhood guests. The diner closed in November 2010; the building remained there for several years, then an empty lot for several more. Finally a Bean & Bean coffee franchise with an office on the second floor opened in a new building that finally went up on the site.

I ducked into a ramp to an underground parking lot on Browvale Lane off Northern a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold there was a ghost sign for Patrick’s Pub parking. With the pub gone, its building gone, and Frank Mockler gone, this sign is Patrick’s Pub’s only trace.

Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”

6/15/20

15 comments

Steve June 16, 2020 - 8:53 am

Can’t believe it’s 10 years that Scobee is gone. Boy, does time fly!

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Denise Gonzalez June 22, 2020 - 5:40 pm

I spent many nights in Patrick’s Pub with an Irish Coffee
in hand and good conversation.
It was great times – Great Memories

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Sue September 7, 2021 - 6:10 am

I was a waitress at Patrick’s Pub around 1980 and also waitresses at their sister restaurant the Harp and Mandolin! It was a great place and yes, I did wait on the Jets after home games and also waited on Whitey Ford and Phil Esposito of the Rangers. St Patrick’s Day was so huge in those days .. we opened with lines around the block! I would work the 7pm to 4 am shift and then go to this Irish after hours place in Bayside till the wee hours .. those were the days!

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Ron S June 16, 2020 - 10:05 am

Pretty sad. A similar story for many places around the city.

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redstaterefugee June 16, 2020 - 10:21 am

In 2003 or 2004 my wife & I invited another couple from far off Woodhaven to join us for dinner at Patrick’s Pub. To make a long story short, the other couple never got to enjoy that great establishment’s hospitality or cuisine because it was history. I vaguely recall having dinner at it’s successor which was a Korean barbeque joint. Thanks for the memories.

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JD June 16, 2020 - 12:50 pm

That is so sad. I loved Patrick’s Pub, and I’ve enjoyed many a wonderful pint and many a wonderful meal with my hubby or with friends over the years, when we lived in Bayside. We also used to love going next door, to the Claddagh Shop, also owned by the Mocklers, and managed by a wonderful, spirited, feisty Maeve (who I’m almost certain was also of the Mockler clan). They also owned, if memory serves me, the Harp and Mandolin – very similar to Patrick’s Pub – located in Bayside. I loved Little Neck – and the SScobee was a favourite go-to place, as was the brilliant and amazing Manketo Market, where fantastic treasures and trinkets and antiques could be found. I miss Queens so much when I think of all these wonderful places, filled with wonderful memories. Rest gently, Mr. Mockler.

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Patrick June 16, 2020 - 6:18 pm

There was an Irish gift shop near the pub too. Might have also been called Patrick’s?

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Richard May 12, 2021 - 6:59 pm

Before it became Patrick’s Pub, it was a less than reputable hangout referred to as “Sweeney’s”. My entourage used to frequent the place which was unkempt and lacking in any atmosphere.

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Steve June 17, 2020 - 5:41 pm

Patrick’s Pub had the best home fries of any restaurant I’ve ever been to.

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Liam Hanrahan October 29, 2020 - 3:54 am

Got that right! I worked there ’82-’88

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Patrick Roche January 10, 2021 - 11:17 am

I remember you well Liam best bartender I ever had!! Patrick and JoAnn got engaged there

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Gayle Rosen December 24, 2020 - 6:02 pm

Any chance anyone has their Irish Coffee or Sherry Trifle recipe? or tips? Can’t find anything even close!

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Lisa December 24, 2021 - 9:19 pm

Patrick’s Pub also made an amazing Irish hot chocolate. I’ve never seen that anywhere else. I once heard a rumor that they were frontrunners for the IF A, but don’t know if there was any truth to that.

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Barbara Hayes April 20, 2021 - 10:50 pm

My then boyfriend Tom introduced me to Patrick’s Pub in 1975. I fell in love with their pecan pie with homemade whipped cream. I moved to Little Neck in 1976, married Tom in 1977 & we ate/drank at Patrick’s at least once a week. Yes, the Mocklers also owned The Harp & Mandolin too. Sweet memories! Left NY for MD in 1979 and then VA in 1984. Sorry to hear Patrick’s is no more.

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Stephanie January 7, 2022 - 12:06 am

I had the very real blessing of growing up in Little Neck. Attended PS 187, Louis Pasteur JHS, Bayside HS, the Scobee Diner and Patrick’s Pub. I am 74 now. By God’s grace I was brought to the realization that I had a drinking problem when I was 23 and have (also through His grace) been sober since 1971. Even so, my heart warms at the thought of Patrick’s Pub. For me Patrick’s Pub is an exceedingly lovely memory. I live in the mid-south now. I took a college student out to eat this week to an upscale, warm and intimate Scottish “Inn” which got me thinking appreciatively of warm memories of Patrick’s Pub. So much of Little Neck was a blessing in my life and I am grateful.

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