Even though he now owns The Galway House in Jamaica Plain, Ed Lanzillo considers himself the longest-tenured regular of the bar, a local institution since 1962. “Before I was old enough to drink I was hanging around here,” says the 62-year-old, who grew up in the neighborhood. Lanzillo started managing the food operation in 1980 and then six years ago he became sole owner. “The previous owner, he was Italian, as am I, and he just named it [The Galway House] because back then all the bars had an Irish name and it just stuck,” he says. “So when I took it over, someone said, ‘Are you going to change the name?’ And I said, ‘Of course I’m not. We’re pretty famous.’ ”
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I consider myself both a Brookline resident and a JP guy. I lived for many years growing up right on the border between JP and Brookline on the street, aptly named, Jamaica Rd. I used to skate in the thirties and forties on Jamaica Pd. And used to hunt for frogs as a kid in JP’s Ward’s pond. My Mom used to do her food shopping at the old A and P in JP, which is now a CVS. Then later in life, I discovered the Galway House in JP. And who would have thunk it was owned by an Italian guy? Hi, Ed. Let me tell you. The JP people in my opinion are what America is all about: The diversity of people who come in there like Mike originally from the UK and Darragh from Galway, the whole spectrum of many different cultures, getting along together, friendly and courteous. What more do we want?