Westland Roe co-owners Linda Hopper and Carrie Galvin
By Claudie Benjamin
Linda Hopper came from Dublin, Ireland to New York City in 1995, and Carrie Galvin arrived from Abbeyfeale, County Limerick around five years later. They met and became friends working as bartenders at midtown bars.
Both women loved the demanding bar business. They enjoyed talking with their customers and gained a wealth of knowledge about beer, wine, whisky, and cocktails.
They dreamed of opening their own pub – more specifically, “an upscale gastropub that serves good cocktails,” said Carrie. Realizing their vision took many months of research, exploring real estate prospects, considering design options, and implementing renovation.
Once they acquired the spot at 174 West 72nd Street, which suited them, they stripped the entire space down to the studs, leaving only the vintage terrazzo floor. They found a specialist to restore the stone and were creative in adding decorative elements to make the 9-foot ceiling look higher and the room brighter and more open working with Kimberly Rogers, a Queens-based designer. Great care was taken with assembling the music just as all the other details. The playlist was put together by a DJ friend. “You don’t want to listen to dance music over brunch,” Carrie said. Knowing sports matter a lot at a neighborhood bar, they invested in nine TVs and signed up for programming so fans could follow their teams. The idea is to encourage “having a beer and burger while watching your favorite team,” said Linda.
Before pinpointing the location of their anticipated new business, the two entrepreneurs took time and great care in research to determine the best spot to realize their intention to fill a need that was missing in the neighborhood. One important element regarded extending the neighborhood’s usual closing hours from 2:00 am to 4:00 am. This was important to accommodate people who work night shifts in hospitals and other occupations. “Usually, nothing is available to them but fast food. Westland Roe’s menu will include healthy salads along with burgers and some Irish pub specialties like Shepherd’s Pie and Fish and Chips. Discussing the process of applying to the community board for approval of extended hours, Carrie said members voted unanimously to approve because they were receptive to the applicants’ view that having lights on late at an active business near the busy corner of Broadway and 72nd Street would make the area safer.
The two partners opened up what had been a back room to create a very large space suitable for parties. From experience, Linda said they knew people like to be close to the bar “where the fun is” said Linda. The revamped space accommodates that preference. They anticipate wedding parties arriving following ceremonies held in Central Park, as well as graduation parties celebrating Fordham and Columbia students.
Over the years Carrie and Linda have come to know corporate customers well. After work get-togethers, which halted during COVID-19, are coming back, and the partners expect that many of their fans will welcome coming a bit uptown to the new pub, which is spacious and welcoming.
Both Carrie and Linda have become great Upper West Side enthusiasts, enjoying the colorful history of their late 19th Century building, which was once known as “Roe Mansion” commissioned in the 1800s by Amy and Albert Roe, its first owners. “That’s where we got the name,” said Carrie explaining the name is a play on the name of a Dublin Street called Westland Row. Saluting Irish and Upper West Side references, framed prints on the walls are a combo of images of various Irish landscapes and Upper West Side photos.
Westland Roe recently launched serving drinks, with the kitchen scheduled to open within weeks.
Hours:
M-F 11 am-4 am
Sat. & Sun- 10 am-4 am
kitchen will be open until 3 am