SUNNYSIDE — Neighborhood bar Molly Blooms will change hands this week, as its owner for the the last four years is selling the business.
Ciaran Staunton, a well-known activist in Sunnyside who opened the Queens Boulevard bar in 2011, served his last pints at the watering hole on Sunday. New owners will take over the pub shortly after and are expected to keep its name the same, he said.
"This wasn't a part of my script, ever," the business owner said, saying he'd once hoped to run the bar "for life" — but that his plans changed after the sudden death of his 12-year-old son Rory in 2012.
Rory developed sepsis after cutting his arm during a basketball game, and died a few days later after being misdiagnosed by doctors. His family has since launched a foundation in his name to spread awareness about the deadly infection.
"I can no longer [be] in this hospitality business," Staunton said. "One has to be fit to give it all their attention, 100 percent of the time. It's hard to have a smiling face with a broken heart."
In the years since it opened, Molly Blooms became a staple in the community, and Staunton was active on several local civic issues: he helped push for changes to parking regulations to benefit local businesses, and raffled off a free wedding for a gay couple after same-sex marriage was legalized in New York.
Several patrons left messages on the bar's Facebook page this week lamenting the change in ownership.
"From my heart I love Molly Blooms," one person wrote. "It has always been a comfortable laid back classy place."
