After two decades, Peggy Kinnane's owners selling Arlington Heights pub

After 20 years of serving up pints and anchoring Arlington Heights' downtown business district, Derek and Michelle Hanley are selling Peggy Kinnane's Irish Pub & Restaurant.

“There comes a point in time where we have to make decisions in life, and this may be the hardest decision we have ever made,” Derek Hanley said on the pub's Facebook page. “After two decades of focusing our lives around Peggy's, we have decided it is time to retire.”

The Hanleys said they have sold the establishment to a local couple who remind them of themselves when they opened the business in 2001. The pub will change hands on June 15.

“I didn't want to sell it to just anyone,” Hanley said in an interview. “We're torn, but we know it will be in good hands.”

Peggy's reached its 20th anniversary on March 15, but because of state mitigations due to the pandemic, the Hanleys held off on celebrating. Now, they will celebrate their milestone at a going-away party on the afternoon of Sunday, June 13.

The event also will serve a fundraiser for hospice services, and it will feature live music by the Mount Prospect-based Ken Dix Band.

Hanley's announcement caught area business leaders by surprise, especially knowing how well the pub survived the pandemic. With the village's Arlington Alfresco, which expanded outdoor seating and closed the intersection his pub borders, Hanley said business was up 20% last summer.

“It was our best summer in our 20 years, but I can't do this forever,” he said.

Hanley is a native of Tipperary, Ireland. He initially worked in New York after emigrating from Ireland, then came to Arlington Heights, serving first as a bartender at O'Grady's Brewery & Pub and ultimately opening his own restaurant.

He designed the eatery as an authentic Irish pub. It features Irish stone obtained from County Clare, and all of its woodwork and the bars were constructed and shipped from Ireland.

Mostly, Hanley wanted to capture the informal and welcoming atmosphere found in Irish pubs. As a way to bring patrons together, he and his wife have held annual fundraisers, raising money for causes that help those with cancer, multiple sclerosis, leukemia and Huntington's disease, as well as the Buddy Foundation and, more recently, hospice care.

He also has been an active supporter of the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, which opened in downtown Arlington Heights one year before Peggy's, as well as the Arlington Heights Historical Society and the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce.

“Derek certainly has been a partner with building the downtown,” said Jon Ridler, executive director of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, “and his investment as an anchor of the downtown has shaped the business landscape.”

In announcing the sale, Hanley assured patrons that he and his family would not be going anywhere. He and his wife live in Palatine, and both their sons have homes in Palatine as well.

“So many memories have been made here,” Hanley wrote in his Facebook message. “We truly can never thank all of you enough for the support and friendship over the years, without it we wouldn't be where we are today.”