Pints, Pub Food, and an 1885 Firehouse
Marietta Square has plenty of polished dining rooms. Johnnie MacCracken’s Celtic Firehouse Pub has old brick, broad firehouse doors, operational bank vaults, a wall of beer taps, and the good sense to leave a few rough edges alone.
The building opened in late 1885 as Marietta Fire Station No. 1, home to Georgia’s first professional fire department. Horse drawn firefighting equipment once exited through the large doors facing Atlanta Street. The firehouse is the oldest surviving fire station in Metro Atlanta and predates Atlanta’s oldest surviving fire station, Station No. 6, by nearly a decade. After its firefighting years, the building housed a savings and loan, leaving two bank vaults behind. Johnnie MacCracken’s opened in the space in 2004.
Those earlier lives remain visible. The station doors, firefighting artifacts, and old masonry belong to the first chapter. The vaults belong to the banking chapter. The bars, beer signs, jukeboxes, and comfortable furniture came later.
Inside Johnnie MacCracken’s
Johnnie MacCracken’s stretches far beyond the narrow entrance seen from Atlanta Street. The interior contains several bar areas, smaller rooms furnished with sofas and oversized chairs, a performance area, and a large rear patio with a fire pit. Indoor bar areas have been smoke free since the pandemic, according to owner Gary Leake, though the pub retains the worn wood and crowded walls associated with an older neighborhood bar.
Regulars often shorten the name to “The Crack,” a nickname that is easy to remember and harder to explain during an office lunch. The atmosphere shifts throughout the day. Lunch can be fairly relaxed, while weekend nights include music, late hours, and a louder pulse.
Celtic Pub Food
The menu features several recognizable Irish and British pub dishes. Fish and chips includes two pieces of beer battered cod with fries and tartar sauce. Corned beef and cabbage pairs beer steamed beef with cabbage, carrots, and garlic mashed potatoes. Scottish bangers and mash features sausages accompanied by horseradish sauce, mashed potatoes, cabbage, and carrots.
Shepherd’s pie is made with ground beef, vegetables, garlic mashed potatoes, Irish cheddar, and house made soda bread. A purist might call that cottage pie, though correcting the menu from a barstool rarely improves service. Guinness Irish stew, chicken and chips, smoked brisket, and roast pork round out the larger plates.
The appetizers and smaller dishes can easily become a meal. Irish nachos pile corned beef and Irish cheddar over tater tots, while the Scotch egg wraps a deviled egg half in banger sausage and is available before 5 pm. Other options include wings, fried pickles, a ploughman’s platter, pretzels, burgers, and personal pizzas.
Sandwiches include the Reuben, chicken schnitzel sandwich, and the Dublin Lawyer, made with smoked brisket, Swiss cheese, and mustard on rye. Food Network personality Alton Brown stopped by Johnnie MacCracken’s in 2007 to film a St. Patrick’s Day segment, where he sampled the pub’s corned beef and cabbage. The visit later inspired a specialty version of the dish named in honor of the Atlanta based chef and television personality.
Beer, Whiskey, and Live Music
Beer remains central to the operation. Johnnie MacCracken’s has over 70 rotating taps, with a draft selection that changes daily and includes Belgian ales, American craft beer, familiar imports, and house labels. Current house beers have included Firehouse Irish Lager and Firehouse Irish Amber. The current draft information is available on Untappd.
The bar also pours Irish whiskey, Scotch, cocktails, and other spirits. Private whiskey tastings pair dinner with guided pours for groups of two to 30 people and require advance reservations.
Live musicians perform on Friday and Saturday nights, generally beginning around 9:30 pm. The stage is small, the room is close, and concert hall etiquette has never been the primary concern. That is part of the appeal.
Johnnie MacCracken’s opens Monday from 4 pm to 1 am, Tuesday from 3 pm to 2 am, Wednesday through Saturday from 11 am to 2 am and Sunday from 12:30 pm to midnight. Kitchen ordering hours may end before the bars close.
Address:
Just off the Marietta Square
15 Atlanta Street SE
Marietta, GA 30060
Phone:
(678) 290-6641
Online:
JohnnieMacCrackens.com | Menu | Yelp | Facebook | Instagram
