In his heyday as a downtown restaurateur and pub owner, Alex Dooley was second to none as a champion of the “little guy.”
Dooley was a success story in his own right with the landmark hamburger joint/Irish pub that he established at 8th and Olive in 1968. His Dooley Burgers were legendary, as was the charm and character of his watering hole. The good times and good stories were countless, right through the Irish wake that finally closed the old place down several years ago.
But I think Dooley deserves to be remembered just as much for his legacy as a fighter, as a tireless voice for small businesses, which he felt were overlooked and abandoned by government and by big business, which called so many of the shots. Alex Dooley was always battling. But through it all, when you walked in his door—no matter who you were—he also greeted you with a smile.
Dooley died last night at the age of 74. And he left behind a legacy that was anything but “little.”
He is survived by his wife, Harriett, daughter Dede, and sons Alex, Tim, Patrick, Sean, Kevin, Brian, and Colin, as well as two brothers and seven grandchildren.
And Dooley Burgers live on at Dooley’s Beef n Brew House, at 601 N. Grand Avenue.
