Fergie Is Out at Monk’s, Will Take Over Oh! Shea’s on Sansom Street

“It's all very exciting,” says Fergie, who is otherwise close-lipped about the whole thing.


fergie monks oh sheas

Fergus Carey aka Fergie

Thursday turned out to be a rather pivotal day in the life of Philly bon vivant Fergus Carey, known to most simply as Fergie.

In a matter of hours and through a series of meetings on Thursday afternoon, Fergie is — just like that — no longer a part of iconic Philly beer bar Monk’s. And he’s taking over Oh! Shea’s, the Sansom Street bar, according to sources close to the deal.

“It’s all very exciting,” Fergie told us as a general comment when we reached him on Thursday. “It’s all good. It’s all very amicable. It’s all very exciting.”

He didn’t have much of anything to say about what happened at Monk’s other than to confirm that he’s no longer involved with the business, which he opened with Tom Peters in 1997. (Peters could not immediately be reached for comment.) Fergie also wouldn’t offer much of anything regarding Oh! Shea’s.

The person answering the phone at Oh! Shea’s on Thursday afternoon, who refused to identify himself, said he had no comment on the matter. But sources insist that Oh! Shea’s will be gone within a week, and that Fergie will take over and do a major overhaul.

We’d be willing to bet plenty of money that Fergie will change the name of Oh! Shea’s, which hasn’t exactly enjoyed a stellar reputation in the neighborhood. At the very least, we insist that he remove the annoying exclamation point from the name Oh! Shea’s. Every time we are forced to type it, we die just a little inside.

Word has it that there are also some big changes in store over at the Belgian Cafe in Fairmount, though Fergie wouldn’t comment on the subject. As for Fergie’s, his longstanding namesake Irish pub at 1214 Sansom Street, we hear that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.