EDMONDS — The owners of two popular downtown bars plan to move to New York.
Brian Taylor and his wife, Louise Favier, owners of Daphnes Edmonds and Jack Murphys, are set to leave Edmonds on June 20. The couple and their two young children plan to visit family in Ireland and vacation throughout Europe this summer before returning to the U.S. and settling in New York City, Taylor said.
“It all hinges on some meetings in the next few weeks but that looks like our approach right now,” he said. “New York is a big probability.”
Taylor and Favier, a native of Cork, Ireland, have owned Daphnes Edmonds, a small bistro on Main Street, since 2007. Four years later, they opened the Irish pub, Jack Murphys, on Fourth Avenue N. They are in sensitive discussions to sell Jack Murphys and another one of their businesses, Daphnes Fairhaven, in Bellingham.
They don’t expect anything to be finalized until Sept. 1 at the earliest, Taylor said. The couple plans to retain ownership of Daphnes Edmonds with local management by employee Jeff Rose.
“Our kids love it here, so in a way, it forces us to maintain a connection to Edmonds,” said Taylor, 50. “It’s slightly reminiscent of the East Coast for us with the size and style of it so it also brings a piece of New York City to Edmonds.”
The approximately 250-square-foot Daphnes Edmonds has seating for just 12 people and primarily offers beer and wine with a little food. A recent renovation project included the installation of air conditioning, a new pantry, beer line, a reshaped bar and a bathroom compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, among other things. It has been and will continue to be the home of the Edmonds Uplift Society, which sponsors the annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim at Brackett’s Landing.
The size and location of the bar makes it an “inherently sociable” place, said Favier, 49.
“You don’t go to Daphnes Edmonds for privacy,” Favier said. “There’s something that’s quite special about that place and we love it.”
Continuing to own Daphnes Edmonds from afar will be manageable while Jack Murphys deserves more local attention, Favier added. She and Taylor would like to sell to an owner who would consider putting a kitchen into the Irish pub.
“A couple of years later, our opinion is it’s a little too urban for Edmonds without a kitchen,” Taylor said.
His family has lived in New York City, Ireland, Edmonds and Bellingham, Taylor said. He and Favier have owned the Pencil Factory Bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, since 2001 and plan to retain ownership of that business along with Daphne’s Edmonds. They also plan to keep an apartment in Edmonds and visit the area several times a year.
“By keeping an apartment here we’ll keep a leg in,” Favier said. “We’ll be back so often it will feel like we never left. Edmonds is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest spots you’ll ever find.”
If you go
Daphnes Edmonds is located at 415½ Main St. For more information, go to www.daphnesbar.com.
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