Well readers, time for another business review and general introduction to the places in Hathian! Since our very own CU Gossip Girl exposed the scoop of Buffy getting dumped by the previous owner of Murphy’s (along with losing quite a substantial bit of cash) I had been wanting to get over there, see the place for myself and as a new owner had purchased the place, talk to them about how they were going to get the place back on track.
So join me as I find a busy pub, a camera-shy barkeep and a talkative owner, able to extol the virtues of his new business, while being surprisingly coy about the bruises he was sporting.
Murphy’s is an Irish themed pub located near the heart of the Columtreal University Campus. It’s a small bar and drinking joint that often hosts live music and has been known to run regular karaoke nights for the students in the University as well as be a regular destination for bar-crawls across the city.
So on Sunday, I took my camera gear and went in to speak with Knox McGregor, new owner and see how he was going to make the business tick… especially in light of the recent scandal!
Interview
Daiyu Tang: “Ok… let’s start with the basics, who you are, where did you come from and what brought you to a pub in a shitty city, where the only saving grace for many would be the heavy bias towards female college students over men and let’s start with you telling me an interesting fact about you to get our readers hooked?”
Knox McGregor: “I moved down here to Hathian to just get off the grid… I went through a bad divorce, and just needed to start anew. The cost of living was pretty low here and I found work here on campus with the CUPD. Being a retired Army MP with a ton of deployments, the campus cop gig was easy, and the warzone of a city wasn’t unfamiliar. When I kept getting mistaken for HPD, I decided I wanted to make people feel happy instead of scared, so I hung it up when I heard the bar was up for sale. I’ve got Celtic roots, love whiskey and people, so making the jump was an easy decision. I took out a second mortgage and reinvested the money into the bar and the staff. They’d been badly treated by the previous manager and I wanted to change it. The way I look at it, if I take care of them, they’ll take care of me and the business.”
Daiyu: “So… when you say off the grid, expensive alimony? Skipped that or still paying? The campus cop gig does sound easy right? A few drug pushers, a few domestics, the odd business owner running away with money right?”
Knox: “Yeah, I originally took the job so I could get on my feet with a private security and investigations business, which I’ll still moonlight and do on the side, but yeah CUPD wasn’t where my heart was…”
Daiyu: “That’s a cool back-story but I get that it’s a bit of a tough gig if you get seen as HPD… that’s like a target on your back whether you’re good, or bad. So ok, you’re the new owner, in financial peril, but with a good heart… So, can you tell me what kind of events and what kind of things you’ll do to promote the bar? I can see a karaoke poster and I’ve done that with Sarah…. what’s on your list of ideas?”
Knox: “When I saw that my favorite bar was in trouble, I wanted to step in. Yeah, Buffy’s karaoke will still be a staple, and we’re going to start serving some nibbles and what not, including dollar taco-Tuesdays. We’ll be hosting pub trivia as well. In fact, we’ve got a mid-day grand re-opening with pub trivia and drink specials this Tuesday at noon SLT.”
I’d seen that Knox was sporting some quite heavy bruising and wondering if there was more to the pub than meets the eye (An Irish fight club readers?!) I asked…
Daiyu: “Tell me, did you ‘fuck ‘eff around and find out, or did you put some of that MP background to good use and the other person or persons looks worse?”
Knox: “I got a decent punch in last night, but it was just Hathians being Hathians…”
Mysterious right readers? Maybe we’ve got a Hathian Fight Night participant here for the future, or maybe we can imagine the upstairs of Murphy’s is hosting secret boxing. Who knows, but he does look good with the scar! Sensing it was time to move this to a close, I thanked Knox for his time and finished up my review and photos.
Conclusion
So, the bar is a nice place… karaoke, drinks, some other entertainment and with Knox promoting some new events to the students and wider citizens of Hathian. Strip-bar or sometime den of debauchery this is not, but what it is, is a solid bar, with good pricing, fun atmosphere and nice customers to chat with and sometimes sing your heart out with.
I look forward to seeing you at Murphy’s in due course and hopefully on the event that Knox referred to above ((Tuesday 28th March 2023 noon SLT)).
Have a lovely day Hathian, until next time! – GBTL
Taxi’s available here: ((SURL))
