O’Hara’s Pub – Ground Zero, New York

O’Hara’s Pub sits directly across the street from FDNY Fires Station #10 — Ground Zero. History and location make It a place unlike any other; a sanctuary with a wounded, but still beating heart. A place that serves empathy along with beer.

The owner of O’Hara’s made the decision to rebuild his business catering to first responders and his home community. It was slow going,

On the first anniversary tribute at the World Trade Center, it took over four hours to read the names of the 2,983 casualties. O’Hara’s had morphed into a first responder’s haven by then.  Predictably, the pub was jammed with mourners; the mood somber, dark, and heavy.

Big John’s tolerance for a morose evening timed out. In a booming voice that can only come from a Sergeant Major, he shouted, “I’m done with this shit. Heroes don’t whine. You hear me?”

With that, he ripped a shoulder patch off a first responder’s uniform and stapled it to the wall. That did it. Someone found a second stapler. By closing time, more than 250 such patches adorned the walls. Fast Forward: Seven thousand embroidered insignias of firefighters, paramedics, police, and other anonymous heroes, cover every inch of wall space in O’Hara’s Pub and the number continues to rise.