Phil Marvets runs McKracken’s Pub, which opened July 30 in the former Black Dawg Bar and Grille location on West Highway 13 in Burnsville. Photo by John Gessner
New bar and restaurant replaces Black Dawg Bar and Grille
by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers
Like its proprietor, McKracken’s Pub is a little bit Irish.
Never mind the temporary banner over the new bar and restaurant at 3120 W. Highway 13, formerly home of Black Dawg Bar and Grille.
“McKracken’s sounds Irish,” said Phil Marvets, chief partner in the venture. “The liquor rep put ‘Irish Pub’ on there. But the name’s going to be ‘McKracken’s Pub.’ ”
It comes from Marvets’ old nickname.
“ ‘Phil McCracken,’ ” he said, laughing. “I guess somebody probably saw that movie, ‘Kingpin,’ with Big Ern McCracken. That was Bill Murray.”
The brother of Tony Marvets, who owned Black Dawg Bar and Grille and is a partner in McKracken’s, Phil says he’s 50 percent Filipino and maybe 5 percent Irish.
His bar, which opened July 30, isn’t all that Irish, either. But the number of beer taps has been expanded from 12 to 20, allowing the addition of Guinness, Finnegans, South Shore Stout and Killian’s Irish Red.
The menu will feature a couple of Irish entrees and an Irish appetizer, and Marvets plans St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Other changes also distinguish McKracken’s from Black Dawg, but Phil said his brother wanted to keep a bar and restaurant going at what has been a reliable business address for nearly seven years.
“He didn’t want to see it die,” Phil said.
Tony is busy planning Anthony’s Parkway Grille, tentatively scheduled to open in September in the vacant Benchwarmer Bob’s building on Burnsville Parkway. Anthony’s will feature more upscale dining than Tony offered at Black Dawg or has at his other Burnsville establishment, Bumper’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. The lower level of Anthony’s will be the new home of MinneHaHa Comedy Club, which had held performances at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center.
“He is a partner in this,” Phil said of his brother’s role in McKracken’s, “but his vision and passion are in Anthony’s Parkway Grille. His vision is for me to be the sole person here. There are a lot of people who have really supported this place over the years, and he didn’t want to leave them in the lurch. A bar’s more than a place that serves alcohol – it’s a meeting place.”
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