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Not Your Father’s Irish Pub By Leo Dillinger Photography by JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)
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amien Given has seen his share of pubs throughout his 20 years in the industry. When he opened Sona Pub and Kitchen in April 2017, Damien wanted to break away from the norms of traditional Irish bars and give Manayunk a modern spin on a classic concept. “The new generation of bars in Ireland are brighter and fresher,” Damien said. “They’re building them like this because that generation coming up is more interested in advancing and not living in the past.“ Born and raised in Beragh in County Tyrone, Ireland, Damien ��� came to the United States during the summer of 1995 on a “working vacation” in Wildwood, NJ. Despite returning home after that summer, he ventured back to Wildwood in March 1996 and has resided in the U.S. ever since. Damien spent those summers in Wildwood working any job he could ��H eventually becoming a manager of several boardwalk shops and a few parking lots. After a few months in the management position, he called it quits and went into his regular watering hole, The Harbor Inn, to ask for a bar-backing job. Within a month, he became a bartender there. After moving to Philadelphia in 2000, Damien spent the following sixteen years working and managing bars all over the area. He worked at The Bards, Fado, and Moriarty’s in Center City and managed Kelly’s Taproom, Flip & Bailey’s, and Garrett Hill Ale House on the Main Line. In July 2013, Damien got a job with the Dave Magrogan Group and spent three years working at their Kildare’s locations in Newark, DE and Manayunk as well as Red Star in Exton. When Kildare’s Manayunk closed in September 2016, Damien and his business partners were ready to start a venture of their own. Being familiar with the neighborhood, Damien began negotiating on the property in the winter of 2016 and by January 11, 2017, the papers were signed and the group began renovating the space. On April 27, 2017, Sona of���� 32
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