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ISLAND RESTAURANT PIONEERS PASSING TORCH TO NEXT GENERATION BY DEAN ROWLAND | PHOTO BY SWEET T STORIES
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Pictured from left; Brendan Reilley, Tom Reilley, Peter Kenneweg and Courtney Kenneweg. 54 hiltonheadmonthly.com
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hen owner Tom Reilley decided to host a wintertime bash at his new restaurant at a time when most of his competition was closed for the season, little did he know that “from that point on, everybody knew who we were.” His “Mash Bash,” which celebrated the final episode of the wildly popular television show “M*A*S*H” on Feb. 28, 1983, transformed his months-old Reilley’s Grill & Bar into a makeshift 4077th located in the heart of Hilton Head Island. Two weeks later, Reilley’s sponsored the island’s first St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which attracted more people than the 68-year-old Rhode Island native might have expected — about 20, not including law officers who threatened to shut the parade down before it even started because it didn’t have a permit. Of course, everyone celebrated at his Irish pub afterward, which was then located at the Gallery of Shops near the Sea Pines circle. His spontaneous but opportunistic genius inspired the opening of Reilley’s Grill & Bar in December 1982. “I was trying to survive as a father and a husband with a family,” said the father of seven, grandfather of 12 and oldest brother of seven siblings. “Diane (his wife) cooked all the specials, and we did what we had to do. There was no grand plan. … It was perfect timing.”
4/23/15 5:47 PM