For half a century, Kelly’s Sea Level has been much more than a place to grab a char-grilled cheeseburger or a pint of Guinness.
Many consider it Rye’s communal “living room.”
Longtime owner Jerry McGuire, who grew up living above his family’s Post Road Market, gets it.
“People have come into the restaurant, the bar, and the store for generations,” he said. “We’ve known the parents, grandparents, children. … We’re all part of Rye and kind of all grew up together. We’re all part of the same family, I suppose.”
McGuire first walked into the tavern as an 18-year-old part-time bartender, left to serve in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, and returned in 1976 to buy the historic building at the intersection of Midland Avenue, Manursing Avenue, and Grace Church Street along with his wife, Martha.
The building itself carries a legacy of structural and cultural adaptability that mirrors the McGuire family’s deep roots in the community, a history the owner has spent recent months meticulously documenting as Kelly’s quietly approaches its 50th anniversary.
The structure was originally located on Purchase Street near the railroad station before the entire frame was moved to its current Midland Avenue site in 1908, transported across town by horses, McGuire said.
The structure even survived the lean years of Prohibition before it was acquired by 1940s Chicago Cubs pitcher Wally Signer, who named the establishment “Five Points” — not as a nod to the surrounding intersection, but as a baseball reference to the five points of home plate.
When McGuire took over in 1976, he changed the name to Kelly’s. The idea was, if the tavern failed, it wouldn’t be an embarrassment to Jerry’s Post Road Market, the family’s prominent grocery store that’s been a Rye mainstay since 1937.
Fail it did not.
Under McGuire’s ownership, Kelly’s (which was not, contrary to the belief of some, named after McGuire’s daughter or vice versa) evolved into a local institution, attracting an eclectic mix of celebrity patrons over the decades. The wood-paneled dining room hosted noted figures including Olympic swimmer and actor Buster Crabbe, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Eddie Fisher and, more recently, serving as a filming location for the Showtime drama “Billions.”
Kelly’s half-century tenure in Rye is anchored by a quiet generosity toward the city it calls home.
Last winter, Kelly’s stayed open during a blizzard and helped feed 50 Rye Department of Public Works crew members who were sleeping at the Damiano Center to keep the city plowed and salted.
But the McGuires’ largesse is woven into the daily, non-emergency fabric of the town. Through their affiliated Jerry’s Post Road Market, the family frequently supports local nonprofits, like the Rye Arts Center, by providing food for receptions and gallery openings.
As Adam Levi, director of the Rye Arts Center, pointed out, local nonprofits simply “couldn’t do it without their support.”
For the past 35 years, Kelly’s has hosted an annual golf outing in memory of the late George Kirby, a beloved local mailman and grandfather of current major league pitcher George Kirby. Most recently, the event raised $15,000 to sponsor the Rye Senior Citizens.
In years past, local parents bid at silent auctions for the opportunity to spend an evening pulling beers behind the Kelly’s bar. This top-drawing prize allowed schools to raise money while parents stepped into a piece of local history.
Kelly’s is, most of all, an everyday sanctuary for residents.
Resident Liz Woods, founder of Ryemarkable Moms, said the pub serves as the backdrop for life’s big moments, from fifth-grade graduations to St. Patrick’s Day traditions.
“It’s a place where memories are made, connections happen, and generations of families keep coming back year after year,” Woods said.
Sue O’Brien, a longtime patron, described Kelly’s as an “icon of Rye,” where families gather for relaxed dinners and local hockey teams celebrate late-night wins.
The pub’s uniquely inclusive nature is a key part of its charm. U.S. Rep. George Latimer, a Rye resident, describes Kelly’s as the town’s “home base,” adding that whether patrons are Wall Street financiers or bestselling authors, everyone checks their egos at the door.
“We’re all residents of Rye or nearby, and we’re friends, and we just interact that way,” Latimer said.
City Councilmember Jamie Jensen recalled stepping into Kelly’s after a grueling meeting to find members of the Christ Church Choir grabbing a late bite.
After she asked them for a song, the choir members treated her to a verse of “Simple Gifts,” a gesture that reminded her “why Kelly’s is a place where memories are made, and strangers can become friends.”
When asked about the secret to reaching such a rare milestone, McGuire is humble.
“You roll with the punches,” he said. “You work every day … you try to accommodate people and grow with whatever’s going on. We just try to be pleasant, we try to have a good product … keep the beer cold, the food good, tasty, and at a reasonable price. One thing about nice people — they draw nice people.”
As Mayor Josh Nathan reflected, when local businesses become this ingrained in a town, they transcend being mere providers of products or services.
“Kelly’s is part of the Rye fabric, a cornerstone of our community character,” Nathan said. “When you see a warm, local pub in a movie and think, ‘that would be neat to have,’ well, we have it; our own ‘Cheers’.”
