Brady's At The Station

You’re Only a Stranger Once: The Heart Behind Brady’s At The Station

From a village in County Roscommon to Main Street in Ramsey, John Brady has spent 20 years making newcomers feel like regulars.

Trains rumble past the deck at Brady’s At The Station often enough that you stop noticing them, until one rolls by in the middle of a toast. Inside, the wood-paneled pub is full of Irish memorabilia, local honors and two decades’ worth of stories. Upstairs, a model train circles the dining room on a bridge above the tables. Downstairs, regulars hold down the bar while friends and families gather over Irish and American favorites.

John Brady, the Irish-born owner, has built his career on something that sounds simple and takes a lifetime to get right: making people feel welcome. It’s right there in the motto, “You’re Only a Stranger Once.” “We really value each individual and want them to feel like they’re with family,” John says.

A Little Piece of Elphin on Main Street

John grew up in Elphin, a village of a few hundred people in County Roscommon, where the Brady family has been in business for generations. Brady’s General Store on Elphin’s own Main Street recently marked its 100th anniversary. Over the years the family also ran a funeral home and a travel agency.

John spent 15 years managing and tending bar at pubs across New York City. When he went looking for a place of his own, he toured properties around the area and settled on the former Trackside Inn in downtown Ramsey, which had been closed for three years. He opened Brady’s At The Station in 2005.

Going from employee to owner changed everything, he says. “I never stop thinking about it, and planning.” Twenty-one plus years in, he intends to stay at the helm for years to come. The kitchen serves Irish and American fare, with the occasional German dish (hello, Oktoberfest!). Catering, a line he never expected to get into, has become a business of its own. Brady’s now hosts fundraisers, community gatherings, baptisms, milestone anniversaries and family celebrations. The upstairs room has high ceilings and a deck over the tracks, so the music of the passing trains becomes part of the occasion. On the day we visited, that room was hosting a post-funeral gathering. John knew the person being remembered, and their children and grandchildren too. It says a lot about his place in Ramsey: he knows generations of the families who come through his door.

The Number Six That Kept Everyone Guessing

Behind the downstairs bar hangs an Irish road sign bearing the number six. For years, John promised to pick up the whole tab for anyone who could guess what it meant. Nobody ever did. The answer: six was the telephone exchange number for his hometown of Elphin, or Ail Finn in Irish. These days, the answer to the riddle hangs overhead. Stretched across the ceiling is a banner reading “Dear Old Elphin,” after the nostalgic Irish folk song of the same name, made famous by Cyril McDermott, about an emigrant’s longing for home. John made the banner for his 60th birthday party at Brady’s At The Station, where he led the crowd in singing the song. Then everyone signed the banner before it was hoisted up and hung above the bar.

John gets back to Ireland once or twice a year, often stopping in London to see his sister-in-law. On a recent cruise with his wife, Martina Brady, the pair enjoyed memorable stops in Boston, Portland, Halifax and Saint John. But love of travel met its limits: stretches of 36 hours at sea definitely aren’t his thing. John keeps trips short: there’s a pub to run in Ramsey, and he’s happiest within driving distance of Brady’s.

A Business Built on Showing Up

Ask John what success looks like, and his answer is short: a happy customer. Getting there is another story. A good team, he says, gives an owner what he needs most: confidence that things will get done right whether or not he’s on site. John has two strong partners, affectionately known as “The Longfellow” and “Daddy,” who provide financial backing and support. He buys the kitchen’s wholesale supplies himself and hauls them in a truck he bought for the job, while his kitchen team runs the menu, the daily specials and the catering. He’s also quick to single out his bookkeeper, Rose Marotti, and her son, Robert, as an invaluable part of the Brady’s team.

The place still has a way of calling him back. After a Saturday-night wedding with his wife, John handed off the 8 a.m. Sunday opening so he could take it easy. Just before eight he woke up, checked the security cameras on his phone, and saw nobody there. He drove over in his pajamas and opened the doors himself. His staff had to get to work, customers were on their way, and the day had to go on. Any small-business owner in Bergen County will recognize that morning! The hospitality business has changed a lot in 21 years. Since the pandemic, John says, the industry has gotten harder, with rising costs, staffing challenges and more complicated logistics.

He isn’t alone. New Jersey’s eating and drinking places were projected to generate $36.66 billion in direct economic output in 2025 and support more than 350,000 jobs, according to the National Restaurant Association.

John believes his job is to keep evolving without losing the traditional pub atmosphere regulars come for. As he puts it, owning this business is never dull. That traditional pub has come back into fashion, too. Irish culture is having a moment with younger drinkers, and U.S. demand for Guinness grew faster than for any other imported beer in 2024, according to Nielsen data reported by The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The old ways at Brady’s are looking newer all the time.

What His Father Taught Him

As a boy, John worked alongside his father in the family’s funeral business. After a funeral, the two would visit the family’s home to pay their respects. John remembers his father’s compassion and how much it mattered to him to show up for people in hard moments. You can see that lesson at Brady’s today, in the families who mark their milestones upstairs and the regulars who come in for the company as much as the pint.

You can see it outside the restaurant, too. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, Brady’s donates hundreds of prepared meals to neighbors in need through local charities such as Ramsey Responds. The Knights of Columbus have recognized John for his community work, and the local Police Benevolent Association gave him a silver card for supporting the department. He has a soft spot for volunteer firefighters and EMTs, people who show up when someone needs help and expect nothing back. John knows that instinct. Sometimes showing up means bringing a meal. Sometimes it means opening the restaurant in your pajamas. Another favorite cause is local sports: Brady’s is a sponsor of both the Ramsey High School sports teams and the Ramsey Junior Football Association (RJFA).

All Aboard

Anyone who’s visited Brady’s upstairs dining room has taken notice of the working model train which encircles the space. But there’s a story there - John wasn’t a fan of the idea at first. A regular who was a model-train hobbyist lobbied him for years to put one in. John resisted, before finally agreeing on one condition: the customer had to build it himself. He did, bridge and all. Now it’s one of the dining room’s best features, put there by someone who loved the place enough to leave his mark on it. Then there’s the food. Our pick is the Station Sandwich: thick-sliced chicken breast, Irish bacon, Monterey Jack, avocado, shredded lettuce, tomato and Dijon mayo on ciabatta, with fries. It’s big enough for two meals, and worth savoring.

More Than a Place to Eat

After more than 20 years, Brady’s is as much a part of downtown Ramsey as the station it’s named for. The Irish roots are on every wall. The celebrations, fundraisers and goodbyes belong to the town. A passing train might catch your eye, and the Station Sandwich will definitely keep you lingering a while, but the welcome is what brings you back.

You’re only a stranger once!