William (Bill) K. Shanley

RESTAURATEUR BILL SHANLEY WAS KNOWN FOR WARMTH, SAVVY SENSE OF BUSINESS By Mike Dunne Bee Staff Writer William K. "Bill" Shanley, a fixture of the Sacramento dining scene for nearly 20 years, died at home Sunday evening of apparent respiratory failure. He was 56. Since 1995, he had been general manager of the Firehouse, where he coupled old-fashioned back slapping bonhomie with modern management acumen to revitalize the Old Sacramento landmark. While on one hand he appreciated the earthy craft of shaking dice at the bar, he also recognized the need to tug the Firehouse into contemporary times, and was instrumental in creating the restaurant's Web site, introducing a voice-mail reservation sysem and hiring high-profile chef Raymond Salladarre. "He had a profound impact here," said Catherine MacMillan, owner of the Firehouse, who has been practicing law since turning over management of the restaurant to Mr. Shanley. "He was a very personable, loving man who made everyone feel welcome and comfortable. He made this place very warm and inviting." With Mr. Shanley's death, MacMillan will resume a more active role in running the restaurant. Mario Ortiz, who has worked at the Firehouse for 26 years, now as the restaurant's food and beverage manager, recalled Mr. Shanley's managerial skills. "He brought in a lot of organization from the bottom up that we didn't have before." said Ortiz. "He made sure we had the things we needed, he updated equipment, he gave us goals. He was here every day, without fail." Aside from his business smarts, Mr. Shanley was recognized through much of his career as a prankster, wit and the city's biggest amd most passionate leprchaun. For years, his 1939 green and gold fire engine, now stashed in a barn in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta, where he loved to boat, was a fixture in local St. Patrick's Day parades. At the time of his death, he was working on plans for a parade and other entertainment for next month's St. Patrick's Day festivities in Old Sacramento, recalled Lina Fat, a fellow restaurateur in the historic district. "He was really a good presence in Old Sacramento," said Fat. "He was passionate about St. Patrick's Day, and he really helped the Firehouse a lot. He was so personable, and that's what they needed." Mr. Shanley's outgoing personality was largely responsible for the success of his first restaurant, Shanley's Bar & Grill along lower Broadway, which he opened in the fall of 1979. During the 1980's it was one of the town's more convivial pubs, a hangout favored by politicos and working stiffs alike. In talking of his early success a few years ago, he told The Bee's Bob Sylva: "Part of it was that there was a real Shanley. and I knew everbody. It was like a private club. This kind of place hadn't happened before in Sacramento." There, and at two subsequent locations, Mr. Shanley's hearty food tended to run to the likes of Mrs. Carey's lamb stew and a steak sandwhich with peanut butter on the side. But his most enduring dish was uncharacteristically light, even wholesome---chicken breasts marinated in a zesty mix of olive oil, chili flakes, lime juice, cilantro and garlic, then grilled. It still is a regular feature of the meat counter at Corti Bros. on Folsom Boulevard. Mr. Shanley was a soft touch for donations and volunteered time to several community groups, especially the Sacramento Food Bank, recalled his wife, Susie. Last fall, the Shanleys celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in New Orleans. "He got to do all his fun things, going to the great restaurants," she recalled. In 1992, Mr. Shanley was named restaurateur of the year by the Sacramento chapter of the California Restaurant Association, of which he was a past president. At the same time, Shanley's was named the city's best bar and grill. In 1987, the Honourable Guild of St. Patrick's Day Mummers named him Irishman of the Year. He also was active in the Sacramento Rotary Club, the Boy Scouts of America and the Arthritis Foundation. William Shanley was born and reared in Cohocton, upstate New York, where his parents in 1949 opened an ice cream parlor. Shanley's Soda Bar. He worked there as a youth, earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management at the State University of New York, in Delhi, and then began a series of managerial jobs with hotel chains, which brought him to Sacramento in 1969. He left three years later for stints with other hotel groups in Newport Beach, Downey and St. Louis before returning to Sacramento in 1979 to open his own place. In addition to his wife, survivors include a brother, James Shanley, of Cohocton, N.Y.; his mother-in-law, Connie Pedersen of Orange; in-laws Philip and Alice Pedersen of Sacramento and Kristine and Spencer Golden of Orange; and nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 2p.m. Thursday at St. Philomene Catholic Church, 2428 Bell St. at El Camino. Mr. Shanley's family requests that memorial remembrances be made to St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Clarksburg or the Sacramento Food Bank. Funeral Home: East Lawn Mortuary 5757 Greenback Lane Sacramento, CA US 95841