SACO — John Kerry sits down at a table in what’s known as Mary’s room, a cozy room at his family’s pub with book shelves, table lamps and a fireplace. 

“This is my favorite room,” he said. The room is named after his late sister, Mary Kerry Libby, namesake of Mary’s Walk, which has raised more than $3 million for cancer research and programs. It’s the room where organizers of the walk have met many times over the years.

It’s Tuesday morning at the Kerrymen Pub, a quiet time at an often bustling location.

“We’ve been here a long time,” said Kerry. He and his brothers Richard, David and Paul and cousin Jimmy Sullivan opened the pub at 512 Main Street in 1978.

Kerry, the sole owner of the pub these days, has decided to close the business. The last day of business will be Saturday.

“The biggest reason is that I’m 40 years older,” he said, though it’s a combination of other things as well including the economy, finances and the changed in marketplace dynamics.

Kerry looks out the window of the pub and motions to the fast food and chain restaurants that have popped up around his business.

“We were here when this was just transitioning from residential to commercial,” he said. He recalls the number of Greek business owners in the area that welcomed the Irish family into the business community, particularly Steve Notis, a pizza restaurant owner who Kerry said was a mentor to him.

“When we started it was like a dream, a dream come true,” said Kerry. Kerry said he went to Ireland and did some research, visiting different pubs and sketching out designs. He came up with the idea for the name after reading “The Kerrymen,” a newspaper in Ireland.

“We weren’t born with silver spoons in our mouths. We had to work very hard from day one,” said Kerry. “We put this together with a shoe string and tried to create a rope.

Kerry is a former state senator. He owns John Kerry Energy Solutions and oversees a Catholic school in Haiti. He said he travels a lot with his work. His wife Linda, and their children have been critical in running the pub.

Kerry said at the time the Kerrymen Pub opened, there were no other pubs in Southern Maine and nowhere that had the same mix of a welcoming atmosphere, good food, and top-notch entertainment.

“It was such a unique place. It was the place to be in Southern Maine,” he said. “We really brought a new dimension to Southern Maine.”

The pub and restaurant soon became a destination for those who wanted to listen to music or enjoy traditional Irish fare, fresh chowder and sea food and other items based on family recipes.

People came again and again over the years to the pub with barn board walls and antiques on display and the Kerrys welcomed them like family.

“They had a big smile on their face when you walked in, no matter who you were,” said Chuck Romanoff of Schooner Fare, the de facto house band of the Kerrymen Pub for several years.

He said he made a lot of friends at the pub, and to this day they’ll reminisce about the good times they had there.

“It was a truly a family restaurant,” said Romanoff, which was the secret to the restaurant’s success. The Kerry family was very welcoming and charismatic, and they seemed to know everyone, he said.

Romanoff said he played at the pub a few years ago and Angus King showed up.

“You never knew who’d pop in there,” he said.

Mike Wiley of the band the Hurricanes met his girlfriend Linda at the Kerrymen Pub.

“It was my local Cheers,” he said.

The pub never lost its small town feel and always remained a family restaurant throughout the years, said Wiley. It was a place where you always felt comfortable, he said.

“We all have so many great stories that begin with ‘remember that night at the Kerrymen,” he said.

Wiley and his band will be playing at the pub on Saturday night at what’s been dubbed “The Last Hurrah.” He said he cherishes the memories made at the Kerrymen Pub and he’s honored to play there Saturday.

Kerry said Saturday night will be an emotional night for his family and for all the loyal patrons who have become like family.

“There will be a lot of laughs, a lot of hugs and some tears,” said Kerry.

Kerry said he is negotiating a deal with a buyer for the property, and the new owner will have to keep the business a family-style restaurant and continue to support Mary’s Walk.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 780-9015 or [email protected].