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Joe Palmeri, the co-owner of Reese’s 1900 in Patchogue, has been bartending since he was 17. But one of the 61-year-old’s favorite memories of the job happened just last year.
As the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black drew an international crowd to Long Island in September, a wave of Google searches for “Irish bar near me” led visitors from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland straight to Reese’s 1900.
Palmeri, 61, leaned into the moment — even opening up on a Sunday, when the Old-Style pub is typically closed, to welcome a group in for pints.
“I had all these guys from Ireland come in, and when I put on Irish music, they were like, ‘Joe, we hear this all the time,’ and started singing ‘American Pie’ and ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads,’” Palmeri recalled. “I didn’t know any of them, but we had a good ol’ time down here. It was very cool, and they loved it.”
That kind of easy, welcoming atmosphere — built around a cozy bar, strong pours and familiar faces — has defined Reese’s since it opened just off Main Street in 1971.
For nearly a quarter-century, Palmeri has been at the center of it.
Whether he’s greeting regulars, chatting up newcomers or occasionally breaking into song, he’s become a steady, friendly presence behind the bar — all while keeping the Guinness, Jameson and Irish coffees flowing.
“You gotta know when to stop talking, when to start making drinks, and hopefully you can do it at the same time,” Palmeri said. “But it’s more of a social thing than anything. People can go home, open their fridge and grab something. There’s a comfortability here. They like that you know their name.”
Palmeri got his start bartending in a ratskeller — a basement bar — while attending St. Joseph’s College in the early 1980s. Working his way through school, he realized by age 20 that he had a knack for the job.
At the same time, he was applying to law school and considering a very different career path.
But after watching “The Verdict,” starring Paul Newman as a troubled attorney, Palmeri had second thoughts.
“I laughed and thought, ‘Oh boy, that’s gonna be me. I can’t do that,’” he said. “I can’t be a drunk ambulance chaser; I’ll just be a drunk bartender.”
He went on to spend 18 years at the Pine Grove Inn in East Patchogue before joining Reese’s in 2002.
Four years later, he and fellow employee Matthew Lowe bought the place — and Palmeri says it’s felt like family ever since.
Over the years, he’s watched Reese’s grow into a gathering place for multiple generations, while also mentoring young barbacks and servers — many of whom have gone on to open places of their own.
“It’s a nice, tight-knit tree, so to speak,” he said. “Our forefathers once said, ‘A tavern is a poor man’s university.’ I’m a big believer in that.”
Next up: Ireland.
Palmeri says he plans to travel there with his son in 2027, when the Ryder Cup heads to Limerick — and hopes to reconnect with some of the same visitors who once found their way to his bar in Patchogue.
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Top: Joe Palmeri, the co-owner of Reese’s 1900 in Patchogue, has been bartending since he was 17. (Credit: GLI/Kevin Redding)
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