Irish Man and Irish Rose had humble beginnings in New London

NEW LONDON – In the fall of 1993, Bob and Shellie Leahy were a young, engaged couple with a daunting secret: they were broke.
After emptying their wedding savings to buy a struggling restaurant called Jolly Rogers, they walked into their first night of business with exactly $127.34 in the till.
“The last checking account I had in Appleton with $127.34 in it was our change in our till the first night,” said Shellie.
They didn’t have a stove, they didn’t have jobs outside the bar, and for the first three years, their “home” was a cramped storage area located directly above the pizzeria.
“We didn’t have any more money,” Shellie recalls. “We ate a lot of pizza. Everything was cooked in the pizza oven.”

It is a story of sacrifice that echoes the Irish settlers who first reached the banks of the Wolf and Embarrass Rivers—people who arrived with little more than a willingness to work and a dream of building something that lasted.
For the Leahys, that dream eventually grew from a two-person operation into a local landmark that produces 2,000 pizzas a week and anchors the downtown landscape.
When they purchased the business, the first thing they did was expand the menu.
“We immediately started adding things like calzones, specialty pizzas and we petitioned for a liquor license which took us five years,” said Bob Leahy. He had studied under a French chef in Colorado where he learned culinary art skills.
“I knew we had to do a lot more than just pizza to survive. So we started adding pastas, spaghetti, Alfredo, burgers, sandwiches and hell, we used to have Mexican food, too, before there was a Mexican restaurant in town,” said Leahy.
Their first physical expansion came in 1996 when they purchased the building next door with plans to expand their dining room. They also had their first child, Mackenzie, in August that year.
Work on the new dining room was in progress and far from completion when Shellie booked a large Christmas party.
“Bob said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Well, now we know when we have to have it done by, so let’s go!’” Shellie explained.
Around that same time, the business began preparing a frozen line of pizzas for selling off-site. At first, the pizzas were available at a few local establishments and Coppersmith Foods.
They quickly became popular.
Eventually, youth sport teams, schools, and churches began selling them as fundraisers, and they expanded into regional grocery stores. Today, they prepare over 2,000 pizzas per week.

Balancing family, work and community life
Three years after Mackenzie was born, the Leahys had their son, Dylan.
As the family grew, they purchased a house on the south side of town. Both children would walk to the restaurant after school. From there, sports practices, homework, and helping around the restaurant became natural.
Bob became heavily involved in youth sports as his children grew. Bob and Shellie were also very active members and participants in the New London Area Chamber of Commerce. Bob served as President of the Chamber for several years, and the two helped establish the New London Area Chamber of Commerce Scholarship program.

Through the years, the couple has supported the Shamrock Club of New Dublin as much as possible while running their growing business and raising a family. Bob served as one of New Dublin’s Leprechauns for 20 years, helping to change the signs and cheer up locals as ambassadors of Irish heritage and community.
“There’s nothing this town takes more pride in than St. Paddy’s Day and the Irish community,” said Bob Leahy. “Literally, it is the identity of this town.”
He said he has always marveled at New Dublin’s St. Patrick’s week traditions. He especially appreciates how it all started 42 years ago with a small group of Irish marching down North Water Street from Coyle’s Tire and Auto to Sommer’s Midtown.
“If you think about the humble beginnings to what happens now, it’s insane,” said Leahy.

Deep roots and shared gratitude

While the Leahys have spent three decades building their own legacy in New London, Bob’s connection to the Emerald Isle is generational. His grandfather was born and raised in Cork, and his grandmother hailed from Belfast. The two eventually met in Montreal before Bob’s father, Frank, migrated to the United States.
Bob’s heritage isn’t just a matter of genealogy; it’s a family bond. In 2008, he fulfilled a lifelong dream by traveling to Ireland to golf with his father and brothers—a trip that Bob still considers one of the greatest memories of his life.
The Leahys are thankful for the support the Irish community and the city have provided them through the years. “I’ll tell you, we’ve always felt like outsiders because we weren’t born here. Even after 30 years, I still feel like the new guy in town because so many of you grew up here,” said Leahy.
“Yet, this town literally built us. Our business, our family, we owe a lot of thanks to this town,” Leahy said.
When Shamrock Club member Steve Malliet called them this winter to ask if they would represent New Dublin as this year’s Irish Man and Irish Rose, they were humbled and hesitant.
“I said I have to ask my wife. So many years we haven’t been able to step away from the business on our busiest day of the year,” Bob explained.
Their children, Mackenzie and Dylan, have stepped into leadership and management roles at the business, and this has been a blessing for the Leahys. The Leahys have three grandchildren: Hudson, Gavin, and Olivia, ages four to one.
Bob and Shellie said they are much happier stepping into their roles as grandparents and easing back on their time at the pizzeria.
Shellie joked, “A couple years ago we went away for our 30th anniversary vacation. When we came back we said, ‘Yep, we’re not coming back.’”
“We told them, ‘Don’t schedule us if you don’t need us,’” said Shellie with a laugh.
Being named Irish Man and Irish Rose feels like a celebration of their retirement in a way. “We’re thrilled. It’s really an incredible honor,” said Shellie. Bob agreed, “We’re humbled to be on that list of so many prominent Irish people in our community.”
“This town has literally built us. I’m looking forward to being able to just enjoy the day with family and the community,” said Bob Leahy.