Mulligan's Beach House Bar and Grill in Jensen Beach closed on April 5th after 23 years in business. The restaurant, at the corner of Jensen Beach Boulevard and Indian River Drive, directly across from the Indian River, always seemed to be the center of the action in downtown Jensen Beach, and it is sad to see it go. The owner, George Hart, said that business was great, but the high cost of rent drove him out. Hart's landlord has pointed out that Hart originally owned that building in Jensen Beach where Mulligan's was located, and when he sold it, he wrote the 10-year lease for $40,000 per month himself. When asked about this, Hart said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. There were originally eight Mulligan's throughout the area, but only two now remain open, in Sebastian and Vero Beach. The Vero Beach location is where I took the above photograph. That particular Mulligan's is right on the ocean, with an outdoor patio with wonderful views of the sea. I sure hope they don't close that one down. In any case, there has been speculation that Hart is downsizing in preparation for retirement, which might explain closing the Jensen Beach location due to the high rent that he himself wrote into the lease. And by the way, the Mulligan's in Jensen Beach was a key organizer of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in that city. Hopefully, another restaurant will take the space over and carry on that tradition. Otherwise, next St. Patrick's Day, instead of a parade and street party, we might be seeing Irishmen sitting despondently along the curbs crying into their beer. Talk about depressing.
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