Mr. Dooley's Bringing Irish Boston Tradition to Wrentham

Brian Griffin is the general manager at Mr. Dooley’s in Wrentham and has been cooking his entire adult life (and then some).

“My mother was a home economics teacher and we started making food around the house,” he said.

Griffin said he started work at the Chart Room in Bourne as a dishwasher and moved up the ladder from there.

“I kept coming back every summer until it just stuck,” he said.

Griffin said he has worked in many different restaurants, including Not Your Average Joe’s and The Beachhouse in Falmouth, and picked up a lot from everywhere he worked, but he said the Chart Room was the foundation of his work.

“Everybody in my family has worked there,” he said. “From babysitters to friends,it was just the place that everybody worked.”

Griffin said it is a challenging job, essentially working to make sure everyone else has a great time can be exhausting, but he said the benefits definitely outweigh the challenges.

“I’ve had many great moments,” he said. “It’s a great business to be in if you can put up with the long hours.”

Griffin said he came to Mr. Dooley’s about nine months ago and has been shaking things up in the menu. While traditional Irish cuisine is a mainstay in many restaurants, it can be a little heavy at times.

“Irish pubs are very heavy on the comfort food, but we wanted to lighten it up,” he said. “People don’t want everything fried, but now we’re a little heavier on the salads. It’s not just shepherd’s pie. When you’re in a small area like Wrentham, you have to have a reason for people to come back more and more.”

Mr. Dooley’s is a family-run restaurant owned by the Somers family and has locations in Boston and Cohasset. Griffin said in the time he’s worked for them, he’s found a group of people he can really work with.

“You feel you’re working with them rather than for them,” he said. “They’re very open to new ideas. It makes you want to keep things fresh… It’s a great family to work for.”

(Mr. Dooley's Wrentham is located at 303 Shears St., Wrentham, 508-384-3457. The Irish pub is opened Tuesday-Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed Mondays.)