Since being founded in 1976 by Paul Hennessey, an entrepreneurial former Wall Street stock trader, Hennessey's Tavern, Inc. has grown from a single location in Hermosa Beach, Calif. into a diversified group spread throughout Southern California and Las Vegas that today includes: 10 Hennessey's Tavern and H.T Grill operations, as well as the renowned Lighthouse Cafe jazz club and The Fish Bucket & Mickie Finnz - casual "beachy" concepts, along with a Live Music Venue and Brass the Lounge, downtown Las Vegas. The company's sales have risen rapidly, as well, since its early days. Hennessey's Tavern, Inc. projects total revenues for 2011 to exceed expectations, given the still down economy.
Mr. Hennessey credits the company's success to the fact that it has found a market niche and not deviated from it, even as Hennessey's Tavern, Inc. has continued to expand. He said he believes his dining and drinking establishments emphasize good food and ambience, but shun the flash-in-the-pan trends and gimmicks that are common among his competitors. The final product, Mr Hennessey believes, is the traditional cozy or clubby feel indigenous to Irish or English pubs.