The Dead Rabbit team to open The Life of Reilly
Jack McGarry of The Dead Rabbit will open The Life of Reilly underneath San Patricios in Jersey City this spring.
San Patricios is a blend of a Mexican cantina and an Irish pub that opened in September 2025.
The Life of Reilly is described as a ‘bespoke cocktail lounge’, which will serve as an ‘intimate, elevated’ counterpoint to the pub above.
A similar concept exists in New York’s Dead Rabbit, with the upstairs Parlor offering a more cocktail-forward experience than the Taproom.
The Life of Reilly is inspired by Irish-American history and ‘vaudevillian theatrics’.
Its name refers to the idiom, ‘the life of Reilly’, meaning a luxurious, carefree existence, as well as nodding to John O’Reilly, an Irish immigrant who rose to lead the San Patricios battalion.
The space will include a cabaret-style room with vintage Mexican and Irish playbills, posters, and performers, and more.
The food offering will centre on ‘refined’ small plates, while cocktails will be ‘meticulously crafted’ and ‘classically inspired’. Both menus will use local New Jersey produce.
Ice will be cut by hand and fruit juiced to order, while cocktails will be stirred or shaken in view of every guest, turning the creation of each drink into a performance.
Posting on Instagram, McGarry said: “Like The Dead Rabbit, San Patricios was always envisioned as a dual concept, with San Patricios offering a fun, accessible neighbourhood pub and cantina, while The Life of Reilly will be something altogether different.
“To start with the name: idiomatically, it means a life well lived, usually said with an Irish wink, as in your man or your woman has the life of Reilly. Etymologically, the phrase first appears in The Fort Worth Daily Democrat (Texas), dated 6 July 1880, with the line: ‘This is the life of Riley.’
“Riley and Reilly were used interchangeably at the time, both stemming from the Irish Ó Raghallaigh, later anglicised to Reilly and, in many cases, simplified further to Riley.
“By the early 20th century, the expression had become so mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic that it began appearing in Irish-diaspora-inspired vaudevillian songs, including ‘He’s Living the Life of Reilly’ (1917) and ‘My Name Is Kelly’ (1919).
“It’s also a tip of the hat to the leader of the San Patricios, John Riley, whose life was anything but carefree, though it was perhaps the kind of life he fought for.
“Design-wise, the space will be sexy and sumptuous, taking cues from late-19th- and early-20th-century vaudeville theatres, as well as Ireland’s most iconic stage, the Abbey Theatre.
“Like The Dead Rabbit’s Parlor, the drinks will be serious, with a deep focus on showcasing the incredible produce and products of New Jersey.
“Everything will be classically inspired, in the spirit of the original TDR. New Jersey deserves more elite cocktail bars, and I think this will be another one to add to the list.”
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