Getting to know de Vere's
April 2008
Although it’s an overused cliché, it is nonetheless true that Henry and Simon de Vere White's excitement is nothing short of contagious. The energy is almost palpable as the brothers enthusiastically discuss their first restaurant endeavor, an authentic Irish pub slated to open in Sacramento’s Firestone building (located at 16th and L Streets) in September 2008.
Four years after the seed for de Vere’s Irish Pub was inadvertently planted as Henry and his mom were enjoying a casual stroll, the project is rapidly moving from concept to reality. Construction workers are currently hard at work on the Firestone renovation, transforming the structure which California Pizza Kitchen, Mason’s and Fleming’s Steakhouse will also soon call home. A local landmark building straddling the bustling State Capitol and the ever-growing Sacramento downtown dining and entertainment scene, brothers Henry, Simon and Mark de Vere White have found what appears to be an ideal location for the family-owned de Vere’s Pub.
Although the brothers collectively span several varied industries (Simon is in real estate, Mark in technology and Henry in the restaurant business), in some ways it seems as though this pub were almost fated. From an Irish lineage that can be traced back more than 1,100 years, the brothers have a solid footing in the culture and its signature knack for hospitality. Not only that, but they also come from a long line of pub proprietors. “This family has been in the pub business for 400 years, maybe longer,” Henry says. According to the de Vere Whites, Sacramento is ripe for precisely this sort of establishment. As Henry puts it, “Every big city in every country in the world has an Irish bar. The Irish bring a sense of hospitality.”
This history and culture are the cornerstones of their vision. Henry and Simon are adamant that translating this Irish essence in an authentic way is, above all else, the critical ingredient to making their restaurant a success. Hearing them speak, one gets the feeling that the underlying goal is to ensure that, were it not for the State Capitol just a stone’s throw away, guests would be completely unaware that they were enjoying their pint in downtown Sacramento rather than Ireland’s Grafton Street. It follows, then, that fostering this sort of environment has been central to every aspect of the pub’s conception including design, menu and staffing.
To achieve the appearance of a traditional Irish pub, the de Vere Whites have commissioned a design company based in Ireland to outfit the restaurant. “They’re manufacturing all of the furniture, the bar itself. Everything will be made in Ireland and then shipped out here,” Simon explains. The look of the bar will be finished off with pictures and relics straight from the de Vere White family’s extensive archive. Henry explains, “We want to take that family history we have at home and bring it into the pub. You might look at a black and white picture and say ‘Oh, that’s an old lady.’ But it’s actually our grandmother spinning pottery in Kerry.” Such artifacts are a tangible display of the de Vere Whites’ firm belief that a good Irish pub should feel like an extension of their customers’ living rooms. It should be somewhere to “come home to” rather than to “go out to.” Simon puts it simply, “We’re trying to turn the pub into a family home.”
The menu will feature staple Irish dishes—think shepherd’s pie and bangers n’ mash—while simultaneously incorporating the best of what California has to offer. And, of course, more important than the food at any Irish establishment is the beer (as exemplified in the pub’s tagline “Come have beers at de Vere’s”). Two proprietary de Vere’s brews are currently in the works—a lager and an Irish red ale—and will be featured amidst a wide range of whiskey and standard bar staples.
As a family-owned business, once the bar opens the brothers will roll up their sleeves and dig into daily operations, pulling pints behind the bar, greeting guests and taking care of any and everything else that needs to be attended to. The rest of the work will be handled by a small staff that will, once again, further the authenticity of the restaurant; the de Vere Whites are currently in the process of obtaining work visas to bring a handful of staff over directly from Ireland. According to Simon this, in and of itself, is a process, but one that they see as necessary. He elaborates, “You can’t fake Irish hospitality. It’s infectious.”
Although both Henry and Simon continue to work other jobs while restaurant construction is underway, it’s clear that the vast majority of their time is dedicated to this process. Right now their days are consumed with looking at plans, juggling incomprehensible amounts of communication with the various players in the project and doing their best to ensure that no stone is left unturned. Henry explains, “You can look at business plans a hundred times over and give the green light. Then, all of a sudden you lie down and start thinking about it and wonder, ‘How did I miss that?’”.
Despite his many years’ experience in the restaurant and bar business Henry says, “There’s a huge difference between running a bar and opening a bar. Even though I’ve helped open Irish bars, I didn’t really grasp the whole permits and plans process. It’s been quite a process.”
The brothers are making a concerted effort to be two or three steps ahead of the game at all times, but they are aware that they must also expect the unexpected. “My uncle who has opened 15 bars says you always overlook something, you always compromise something,” Henry muses. Although the learning curve is steep, Henry and Simon have found guidance from other restaurateurs they have been affiliated with both professionally and personally. Henry says, “Since I’ve been back [in Sacramento], I’ve been working at restaurants that have just opened. I learn from them. Then we called our uncle and asked how he got going. It just sort of takes on a life of its own. You have to be really persistent and patient.”
Stay tuned for our next check-in with the De Vere White brothers as their pub moves forward.
