Katy O'Ferrell's celebrates 10th anniversary on St. Patrick's Day

Florence Kathryn Ferrell died in 2005, but her legacy lives on in Katy O’Ferrell’s Irish Pub and Restaurant at 300 Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The restaurant is celebrating a decade of business with a North Lorimier Street block party Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

“Saturday night will probably be the heaviest load,” owner and general manager Christopher Dirnberger said. “Sunday will probably be a little more spread out.”

The festivities will include face painting, an earring vendor, Irish desserts and artisan marshmallows from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Jumper Cables, a local acoustic band, will perform Irish songs from noon to 3 p.m. that day.

Yard games and Katy O’Ferrell’s merchandise will be available both days. Lorimier Street north of Broadway will be closed to accommodate the festivities.

Katy O'Ferrell's Irish Pub and Restaurant opened on March 15, 2014, just in time for St. Patrick's Day. The pub's celebrations grew over the years, culminating in a 10th anniversary bash this weekend.Christopher Borro

Dirnberger will also have a specialty Irish bar outside, as well as appetizers.

The bar is a new addition to the St. Patrick’s Day festivities that should allow for more customers.

“In the past, we got so busy, a lot of people weren’t able to come in here. They basically got turned away because there wasn’t any seating,” Dirnberger said.

Having an outdoor bar alleviates some of the congestion inside the restaurant, he added.

The pub’s full menu will be available inside only. Regular Irish dishes include corned beef and cabbage, bangers and mash, fish and chips and shepherd’s pie.

All customers will receive a free commemorative anniversary cup to mark the occasion.

The restaurant also hosted Spirit of the Irish bar tours the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday preceding the anniversary.

“Christy Mershon is the tour guide,” Dirnberger said. “You get samples of Harp, Guinness, Smithwick’s, and then an Irish wake as well as her extensive knowledge of Irish history.”

Irish roots

Katy O’Ferrell’s opened March 15, 2014. It was the brainchild of five Dirnbergers: Christopher; his father, Mark; and his uncles, Paul, Steve and John.

They named the pub after Mark, Paul, Steve and John’s grandmother, shortening her middle name from Kathryn to Katy and adding an old Irish prefix to her last name to make Katy O’Ferell.

“It was a rocky road at first, but we’ve got a lot of good people who work for us,” Dirnberger said. “A lot of the guys in my kitchen have been here almost the whole time, so I’ve got to give a lot of credit to them.”

Dirnberger said he was fortunate to have low turnover among his staff, especially in the kitchen, compared to other restaurants.

Over the years, the pub has seen its fair share of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Many of their regular decorations are just left up from previous ones.

Katy O’Ferrell’s is also known for having customers write their names on $1 bills and tack them to the walls. Dirnberger estimated there to be between 12,000 and 15,000 $1 dollar bills across the establishment.

“The thing we say about the dollar bills is that’s how you can own a piece of the pub,” he said.