Google describes the Irish Queen Maeve, who is believed to have ruled in the first century A.D., as “a warrior of great strength, resilience, and at times, ruthlessness. With a name said to mean ‘intoxicating,’ it is certain that she wielded enormous power and sway during her reign.”
All of which sounds like a great name for an Irish drinking establishment. And that’s what DJ Naylor is calling his new restaurant/bar. Maeve’s Tavern is slated to open in mid June at the site of the old Highlander Scottish pub at 78 North Main Street in Collierville, Tennessee. Naylor, Reny Alfonso, and Brad Allbritten of the Brazen Restaurant Group are the guys behind those other Irish watering holes, Celtic Crossing and Bog & Barley.
“Maeve was a mythical queen in the Connaught region in the west of Ireland,” Naylor says.
He had his daughters Kyla and Teagan in mind when he chose the name. “An Irish figure that would represent them,” he says.
Maeve was a “very fierce warrior,” who was “ambitious, courageous.”
Asked why Colllierville, Naylor says, “We want to expand our footprint, our reach, our business,” he says. “We’d always planned to have a larger number of restaurants. We were leaning towards Lakeland, but the opportunity presented itself.”
Maeve’s Tavern is more intimate than the other two bars/restaurants, says Allbritten, who is director of restaurant operations for the group. “It’s 120, 130 inside with a 50-seat patio,” he says. “We’ll really be able to be serving some outdoor entertainment.”
They will feature Irish music and dancing. “It’s very important for us to keep our authenticity to the Irish culture.”
It will have “a family atmosphere. It’s going to be a casual tavern you’ll feel comfortable being in.”
And it will be a great place to bring the kids and for groups who want to “have nice lunches and enjoy tea” with their friends.
Inside, Maeve’s Tavern is going to be very Irish-centric. “All the interior furniture, bar furniture, and dining room furniture are going to be sourced in Ireland,” Naylor says.
The color scheme for Maeve’s Tavern will be “some nice reds and greens.”
Maeve’s Tavern will have “a more feminine and softer approach to your average pub,” Allbritten says. “Not just leather, but a lot more design appeal.”
Also included will be artwork and Irish bric-a-brac, including “antique mirrors from Ireland.”
And they want to tie in symbols of Maeve, including “the bowl, the crown, the raven,” Naylor says. “Tying all those aspects of her mythology into the design.”
As for the food, Naylor says they will “maintain the staples” at Maeve’s Tavern. “The tradition will stay with us, but we’ll definitely show the community a different side of our culinary scope.”
Alfonso, who is director of operations for the group, does the menu development and works with the chefs in each restaurant. “Currently, I’m leaning towards more Irish countryside,” he says. “Cottage-style food. Like heartier composed plates.”
Maeve’s Tavern is “going to be a tavern, but we also want to make it fresh and exciting and new. Focused on things you’d find in the countryside in Ireland. More emphasis on seafood like you’d find on the coastal side.”
But he says, “I’m trying to lighten it up as well, if that makes sense. Sort of make it healthier and not so heavy.”
Alfonso also will feature traditional items, including shepherd’s pie and fish and chips, along with some new items.
He’d like to do a “lighter and less pungent version of liver and onions.” It will have “caramelized onions.” But he’ll lighten it up with grape vinegar. “The acidity in it will brighten up the richness of the sauce in the liver. I’m using influences not only from Ireland, but Scotland, England, and maybe some Australian. They were also colonized by England. A mishmash of United States and Ireland.”
His other ideas include a version of stuffed leeks, but he’s not sure what he’s going to stuff them with. Maybe shrimp paste or something similar, he says. “They’ll be glazed in some Irish cider.”
Alfonso also plans to make a brunch item called “boxty,” which is a “traditional potato pancake,” and a“cabbage cake.”
“I do want to do a version of — I don’t know what I’m going to call it yet — chicken cordon bleu with Irish ‘rashers’ — Irish bacon — and smoked Irish cheddar.”
And, he wants to do a fish “in some kind of a curry.”
He’s playing with an idea for a salmon en croûte. “Maybe coulibiac, an old Russian dish, traditionally. It’s salmon that’s rolled in puff pastry with mushrooms, eggs, rice, and spinach. I’m going to find a kale or cabbage to make that more Irish.”
“I want to do a curry-marinated chicken paillard and salad-type thing. I’m definitely going to try to do proper English roasted potatoes. The potatoes are peeled, and they’ve got to be gold, with a little bit of baking soda. They’re boiled first in baking soda and water, and then you toss them to beat them up. Then they go in a hot pan with beef tallow.”
He wants to do something called an “Irish spice bag,” which is “a thing that you’d find on the streets in Ireland. Like stands and stuff.”
You “fry little pieces of chicken and vegetables and sometimes seafood and toss it in a paper bag with seasoning.
For dessert, he’s thinking of a “mulled fruit trifle,” which he says is “stone fruit mulled with Irish cider and layered with cream sauce and some scones crumbled into it.”
In keeping with the rest of Maeve’s Tavern, Alfonso wants to make his menu items “warm and inviting.” He wants it to be a place people will visit “multiple times a week.”
The experience will be like “going to a cottage and eating dinner.” Like “mom is cooking for you,” he says. “But more refined at the same time.”
Naylor, who is from Ballina, County Mayo, in Ireland, moved to Boston, Massachusetts, before moving to Memphis, where he opened Celtic Crossing in 2005 and Bog & Barley in 2023. “The hospitality of Memphis was far more akin to Ireland than Boston,” he says.
His mother said she’d “much rather come here,” Naylor says. She said the people are friendly. And she loved to go to the department store because the people are “so nice.”
Each of his Irish bars is different, Naylor says. “We don’t just open Irish pubs and sling beer and shots.”
He maintains the quality of each place so they’re “not being a beer joint” like other cities “where Irish pubs are a dime a dozen.”
Each of his Irish bars has its own personality.
“Celtic, for me, is the neighborhood bar that is the soccer headquarters for the city of Memphis.”
The elegant, majestic Bog & Barley, which is “more of an upscale Irish pub,” is “the cathedral to Irish pubs,” he says.
Maeve’s Tavern will be “a third experience to the Irish dining scene.”
“I love openings,” Alfonso says. “They’re just challenging. Getting all the pieces together. Finding out what’s going to work in a new area. New kitchen. New team. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle getting all the pieces together.”
He adds, “We’re just looking forward to welcoming the community into our new home, if you will.”
Justin Fox Burks