Business Profile
SINCE 1976
The Neighborhood Pub by Liz Burnett Photos courtesy of Casey’s Public House
Casey’s Public House is a Newtown Square institution, one that has lasted decades in a town that has new businesses coming in every year. The Marple Newtown community has come to know Casey’s as the reliable hometown pub, where people can come in and be treated like family. Full of old traditions and regular updates from the owners Pete Crisanti and Steve Graham, Casey’s continues to be the neighborhood spot. Steve Graham originally created Casey’s in 1976, then a small trolley car-themed restaurant called Casey’s Trolley Stop. The atmosphere was casual and fun, with a trolley set around the restaurant and the original idea being a chain of “trolley stops” that reached from Upper Darby to West Chester. That idea may not have stuck, but there was something central to that concept that persists today. Casey’s is a reliable spot for people to come to when they need somewhere to stop and rest, whether in the middle of a journey down the trolley line or at the end of a long day at work and eager for a neighborhood spot to get something to eat and drink and talk with friends. Pete Crisanti joined Steve as a partner in 2001. Pete’s father owned a meat market in Marple Newtown for years, and after working awhile for his father, Pete opened a beer distributorship in
Outside view of Casey's Public House
Marple Newtown and operated that business for 20 years. When Steve invited Pete to partner as Casey’s co-owner in 2001, Pete had a very proud working history with his community. “I have never left this town in my three careers,” Pete said with pride. Pete and Steve had been friends long before 2001. They both grew up in Newtown Square; attended Saint Anastasia and Marple Newtown High School; and then went into business in Marple Newtown. Pete was immediately excited about Steve’s business partnership idea because it would be something new that was still in his hometown. In 2001, Casey’s was a formal Irish pub: Victorian-style dark mahogany, a long bar, a menu with Irish options such as fish and chips. But now behind the bar there’s a row of large TVs, and new menu items like burgers and tacos. The hybrid nature is something Pete and Steve decided to add as the expectations of the customers changed over time. “Casey’s used to be very formal,” Pete explained. “People weren’t allowed to come in wearing T-shirts. But as things changed over time, the place had to evolve.” Evolution is something Pete and Steve embrace with open arms. The Marple Newtown community is more casual now, more open to go out to the bar and share some drinks, some laughs and a good burger. Where other restaurants have closed down
Newtown Square’s Destination Gift Shop
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15 St. Alban’s Circle, Newtown Square 610-325-3205 • www.BunnyHares.com
PH OTO G R A PH Y
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Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors
December 2019
