You are reading

Hundreds pack Donovan’s Pub for a beer with Kelsey Grammer, many say ‘Cheers’

Kelsey Grammer behind the bar (Photo: Laura Dorgan)

Jan. 26, 2024 By Laura Dorgan

Where everybody knows his name.

Hundreds of Queens residents packed into Donovan’s Pub in Woodside on Wednesday to shake hands and down some ales some with renowned actor Kelsey Grammer.

Grammer, 68, best known for his role as Dr. Frasier Crane in the hit-TV series “Frasier,” was at the Woodside staple on Roosevelt Avenue to promote his brewing company—Faith American Brewing, which is based in Margaretville in upstate New York within the Catskills.

Grammer, whose character Frasier first appeared on the TV series “Cheers,” was in jovial form and made his way around the establishment for photos and selfies with diners. He then made his way to the packed bar area shaking more hands and autographing posters and signs for his devoted fans.

A chant of “Kelsey Kelsey” also broke out while cans of Faith American Brewing ale were passed around and divvied out to patrons. Meanwhile, the Thomas G. Waites Band blasted out folk rock, Americana music. The band is headed by Thomas G. Waites who is also an actor and a friend of Grammer’s.

Dan Connor, who co-owns the bar with his brother-in-law Jimmy Jacobson, said that Grammer has been going around to bars to promote his company.

“My brother-in-law…ran into him at a cigar bar in Woodhaven during one of his promotions and connected with his people and said ‘hey come on down and see Woodside, see the legendary Donovan’s Pub… And it is a mad house here tonight.”

The label on the Faith American Brewing ale cans features a picture of green fields and mountains in the Catskills, where the company brews its alcoholic beverages.

“I’m drinking his Faith American ale,” Connor said. “It’s a really easy beer to drink, a nice easy crisp beer, 16-ounce cans,” Connor said.

“We’re carrying this and the Blue Hazy IPA right now.”

Patrons were very impressed with the brew.

“It’s got a nice malty backbone, a little bit of bitterness from the hops… a fine American ale,” said Scott Graham, who lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. “I’d give it an 8.2 out of 10, I like it.” @CRAFTPUNKNYC

‘We’re also big Frasier fans so we wanted to come and check it out and we hope to go to his brewery, so this was our chance to try out the beer.”

Nicole Cebrian, who said she’s not a big ale person fan, said she was impressed with the brew too.

“I like it, I like something a bit more citrusy but its still really good.”

She said that she is also a big Frasier fan and it’s her “comfort show.”

Donovan’s Pub has a long history in Woodside. It first opened in 1966 when Joe Donovan and his father bought the establishment that was previously a pub called The Clover Leaf.

Connor and Jacobson, both of whom were raised in Woodside, bought the bar from Joe Donovan about 10 years ago when the pub appeared to be in danger of closing for good. It almost shuttered during the pandemic also and a GoFundMe started by a regular patron helped generate enough cash to help the bar stay on its feet.

“We bounced back really well thank God we got a lot of assistance form the Queens Chamber of Commerce, the New York Mets and our community stepped up beyond belied to support us and they got us through those really dark times, those really tough times and they’re support us now and we’re doing really well thank God,” Connor said.

Tom Grech, the president & chief executive officer of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, who was in attendance said: “It’s really nice that Kelsey came here. It’s really good to be here.”

“They’re back and they’re booming,” Grech said, referring to the pub. “The people, the staff, the workers, the artifacts are what makes Donovan’s so special, the history, the owners, it’s awesome.”

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

South Ozone Park man killed after crashing into parked DSNY garbage truck in Little Neck: NYPD

A Queens man was killed near Alley Pond Park when he crashed into a garbage truck that was parked in front of a Department of Sanitation garage in Little Neck early Saturday morning.

Police from the 111th Precinct in Bayside responded to a 911 call of a vehicle collision in front of the DSNY facility at 75-05 Douglaston Parkway between the Grand Central Parkway and the Cross Island Parkway at around 1:44 a.m. on March 17. EMS responded to the scene and rushed the victim to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he was pronounced dead a short while later. The deceased was identified as 22-year-old Cesar Juarez-Duarte of South Ozone Park, an NYPD spokeswoman said Monday.

No charges for 101st Precinct officers in 2024 Edgemere fatal shooting: AG

New York attorney general Letitia James will not be charging four police officers from the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Geoffrey Parris at the Ocean Bay apartments on Feb. 12, 2024.

Following a thorough probe, her Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which included a review of footage from body-worn cameras, audio from a 911 call, interviews with involved officers, and a comprehensive legal analysis, concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s actions were justified under New York law.