Stone Mad - A Gem in the Inner Ring

JC and Cairenn Sullivan



Christ called Peter the rock of his church. Another Peter, Leneghan, has built his rock, an upscale pub/restaurant on Cleveland’s near west side, in what’s called the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. Stone Mad is in a neighborhood that’s rising. It used to be prominently Italian. While there are still Italian-Americans living there, now you’ll meet Vietnamese-Americans, African-American and Hispanic-Americans residing there.

A copy of the first story about the Leneghan family that appeared in the Mayo News is framed and hanging in a place of honor on a wall at the Tree House in Cleveland’s historic Tremont area. The pub is thrives, with an upbeat crowd always present. With two successful enterprises in Cleveland’s Tremont area, why has he now a third?

“A lot of galavants over the years, and being in New York and Ireland, and a lot of travels and a lot of knowledge about the Pub business. I’m at a time in my life where I’m doing something a little different and having a little fun. I’m just happy the way it turned out. From being in Ireland, I set it up like a little Irish pub.” Where on God’s green earth does a name like Stone Mad come from? “I met a stone mason in Ireland who had written a book called Stone Mad.,” said Pete, not to be confused with his cousin ‘Irish Pete’.


Eileen Sammon is co-owner of Stone Mad, She’s been with Tom & Pete Leneghan since 1996. “I came from the restaurant end of this business and they kind of took me under their wing. They’re two guys I really grew fond of,” she said. “When we first started talking about this we wanted to do a Bocce Ball Court. (What is Bocce you ask? See (www.geocities.com/osuileabhain2000/Bocci.htm) When Pete had his Central Park carriage business he used to go to a restaurant that had one in it so he wanted to incorporate that here. Pete sold the carriage business and has put all his efforts into this for the last three years

Rick Hall, Hall Construction Co., was the General Contractor. “This has an old, 1950s style motiff, like old fashioned woodwork; like things were built 50 years ago. All the stonework is European, like you see in France, Italy or Ireland. We went with a boiled linseed oil, which is what they used to do for protection. To give it an antique look we used tongue oil - many, many coats. The wood paneling in the front is floor-to-ceiling walnut. It was brought in rough-sawn and they did the finish work themselves. Rick and Paul Jones designed the layout and made the booths, bars and wall paneling.”

Cousin Johnny Leneghan from Westport, Co. Mayo, flew in just for the event, surprising the entire family. His reaction to seeing the structure? “Absolutely brilliant – fantastic. It’s worth the trip just to see it.”

The restaurant will not feature any “fast foods.” Michael Fadel, a well-known Cleveland chef, has joined the team. “He designed the kitchens; there’s one downstairs for food prep only. “He takes a big load off my shoulders,” said Pete. Mike McNamara did the intricate art work to be found throughout the pub and restaurant. “He did the same at the Tree House. This was a four month, $30,000.00 project.”

Bar Manager Paul Jones is another long-time associate of Pete & Tommy at the Tree House. “We’ve really gone beyond as far as liquor selection – if you want it we’ll have it. And you won’t see a juke box or television anywhere in the restaurant or pub. We’ve created a atmosphere to stimulate conversation. We’ll have some background music eventually but no television,” Jones said. “Without them it forces people to have conversation with one another.” He prides the staff for top notch service. “We encourage them to chat with everyone. I think one of the most important things we are doing is interacting with people; holding conversations and being interesting; we want to make people feel as if they want to come back.” The crowd has been fantastic. We’ve had a great response from the neighborhood.

Local residents Monica and Arturo Olivera stopped in for refreshmentsand conversation. “With all the plans for things in the Detroit-Shoreway area we’ve heard about, we’re to the point where we’re out of the planning phase and into action. This is a nice place to go in the area and making the area a place to come to. It definitely gives people a different image of the Detroit-Shoreway area, one that can be lived in. This is something positive that people might not be aware of. The neighborhood is growing and being fixed up and it’s more of an attraction for people. This will be one more thing for people to encourage people to stay here. Arturo’s spouse Monica is already planning a get-together with her friends at Stone Mad.

Judging by everything we witnessed on opening night, we’ll be back. For sure!