Last year at about this time, Joseph Fortuna of East Northport was up to his elbows in tax returns and financial papers as a successful certified public accountant. But as of March of this year, he owns one of the premier bars and music venues on all of Long Island - The Nutty Irishman of Farmingdale. Nowadays, Fortuna still does some accounting on the side, but overall life is now a far cry from the white collar world he was once used to.
“One day I came to the realization that's sitting behind a desk all day wasn't necessarily something I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he said. “The change is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
The Nutty Irishman boasts an impressive 5000 square feet of space, with a front bar room lined with widescreen TVs that accommodates up to 200 guests.
The Nutty Irishman, located on Main Street in the heart of Farmingdale’s bustling downtown, has been in business for over a decade. In that time, it has established itself as a staple of the community - it is one of the few remaining venues for live music on Long Island. Already familiar with the venue, Fortuna noted that upon receiving word through the grapevine that the owners of The Nutty Irishman were putting the establishment up for sale, that he knew it was opportunity he couldn't pass up, and so went for it.
Fortuna teamed up with a group of investors and co-owners to-be, and together purchased the bar. He says that his partners come from "diverse backgrounds–construction, musicians, Retired NYPD, and finance," and that they "have come together in this venture with awesome ideas to provide Long Island with the best venue to see cutting edge bands, cold craft beer and the best wings. I am the one working owner running the day to day of the business with James Lamendola."
“I find running and managing The Nutty Irishman to be extremely satisfying - it's a lot of fun. I mean, you're throwing parties for people,” he said.
“I came in with no bar experience, but I'm a quick learner. I kept all of the original staff on, and it definitely greatly helped with the transition. We've done a really good job, and so far response has been excellent. We've been really busy ever since I took over.”
The Nutty Irishman boasts an impressive 5000 square feet of space, with a front bar room lined with widescreen TVs that accommodates up to 200 guests.
Despite the deceptively small storefront nestled amongst the many retail establishments that line Farmingdale's busy Main Street, The Nutty Irishman boasts an impressive 5,000 square feet of space, with a front bar room that accommodates up to 200 guests and a rear bar/performance stage area that holds another 400.
Additionally, the Irishman also has an outdoor bar adjacent to the municipal parking field out back - perfect for enjoying a cold one on a warm Summer evening, or crisp Fall afternoon.
The Nutty Irishman has a rear bar/performance stage area that can accommodate up to 400 guests.
Upon taking over, Fortuna immediately made several significant upgrades to The Nutty Irishman - he increased the number of widescreen TVs in the front bar area, procured a premium cable package so that patrons could watch all the Sunday football games, and expanded the on-tap craft beer selection.
He also increased his kitchen staff, putting a much greater emphasis on the cuisine served at his establishment. All of the upgrades and updates, Fortuna noted, had been extremely well-received by customers.
“Before, the Nutty Irishman wasn't really known as a place to come and eat. It was just a bar,” he said. “Now it's a full-fledged bar/restaurant, and we've been getting really rave reviews on our menu.”
The Nutty Irishman has a rear bar/performance stage area that can accommodate up to 400 guests.
Music has always been a staple at the Nutty Irishman, and this is a trend that Fortuna not only wanted to continue with, but to expand upon. Currently, the establishment has live music on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with musical styles set to appeal to a variety of age groups including country, rock and roll, acoustic, and live DJ sets.
To encourage more local musicians to frequent his establishment, Fortuna brainstormed, and came up with a fantastic idea - Wednesday nights are home to The Nutty Irishman’s “Build the Band” Program - essentially a tournament of sorts where different musicians compete to create the very best mix and match band of the night.
“Musicians come and try out for guitar, drums, bass, singers, and we pick the best and make an all-star band,” Fortuna said.
“It's been going really well...we've discovered a lot of new talent, a lot of new bands, and some of those bands we put into our normal routine schedule.”
Weather permitting, the Irishman also has an outdoor bar, adjacent to the municipal parking field out back.
Fortuna noted that Farmingdale Village is extremely helpful to new businesses opening within its borders; Mayor Ralph Ekstrand and the Board of Trustees were very accommodating when he took over The Nutty Irishman. The town was especially receptive to Fortuna's idea of a "Live at Five" concert series on Main Street this past summer.
“I asked the Mayor if he was interested in starting Live at Five, and he said if I was able to get the merchants all on the same page, that he would support us,” he said.
“Live at Five is basically four music festivals held on Main Street during the summer…we close the street at 5 o'clock, a lot of restaurants set up on the sidewalk, and we have bands performing. It's similar to festivals in towns such as Patchogue and Northport, and it was very successful.”
The Nutty Irishman boasts an impressive 5,000 square feet of space, with a front bar room lined with widescreen TVs that accommodates up to 200 guests.
Another important part of Fortuna's business is helping out in the community and holding charitable fundraising efforts for important causes.
“Almost every weekend, we hold a fundraiser for a different type of organization involved with cancer,” he said.
“On October 23rd, we're hosting a craft beer festival called Crafts for a Cause, and the proceeds are going to benefit the American Cancer Society.”
Nutty Irishman owner Joseph Fortuna of East Northport.
If his success continues, Fortuna noted that he's been mulling over the possibility of opening a second Nutty Irishman, a course of action that only makes sense given its widespread name recognition on Long Island. But for the time being, Fortuna said that he is more than happy with his new business venture, and looks forward to being a very visible part Farmingdale’s busy downtown shopping and dining district for many, many years to come.
“You can always find a live band here on Friday and Saturday nights,” he said. “We recently launched a new website, and it's very interactive and you can find a lot of information on it. So we invite everyone to come on down and try The Nutty Irishman out.”