Lines form out the door for Fitzgerald's Irish Pub

Customers might have warned him, but the owner of Fitzgerald’s Irish Pub still wasn’t expecting the flood of patrons that started last week.

James Jackson, the pub’s owner, said he was surprised when 3,000 people — 500 more than he was expecting — made their way into the Irish pub in the last week.

Fitzgerald’s opened in May and replaced Kildare’s Irish Pub at the 206 W. Franklin Street location.

Jackson said he knew the late night scene would be busier with the influx of college students but was not expecting the huge jump in dine-in customers.

“This first week took us by surprise,” he said.

In order to control potential problems accompanying the crowding, he said the pub has reopened the hiring process and changed security procedures to ensure patron safety.

Fitzgerald’s has hired four people in the past week and they are looking to hire five more, Jackson said.

These new hires are Chapel Hill locals or students at UNC or the Aveda Institute, he said, and they will be trained to work as safely as possible inside the pub to face the large crowds.

“We don’t just bring as many people as possible,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, you have to worry about safety of your customers and we want them to have a good time.”

Despite the crowded atmosphere, patrons said they still enjoy their time at Fitzgerald’s.

Tegan Magsam, a student at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, said the pub still provides a fun atmosphere even when crowded with students and residents alike.

“There were a lot of people last week but it was still a lot of fun,” Magsam said. “It is a nice upgrade from Kildare’s.”

And Bryan Gendron, also a pharmacy student at UNC, said when he left the pub at 1 a.m. one night, there was long line stretching outside the building — but the crowds didn’t stop him from enjoying his time at Fitzgerald’s.

“We always have a good time here,” Gendron said.

Jackson said the response from students has been great and he doesn’t mind the large increase in patrons.

“It’s a good problem to have,” he said. “It seems that people like our product and are coming to check us out so we want to provide the best service they can get.”