Good food, good times, good deeds

As if running a widely successful business—A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub and Restaurant—wasn’t enough to keep Jenna Shannon Garvey O’Brien and her husband Paddy busy, they regularly support charitable organizations in Renton and beyond, run an Irish Market and have six children.

On Friday, the couple will host a fundraiser at their restaurant for the 22nd Annual “Vertical Express for Can Do MS.” It's part of a larger fundraising effort that will include a three-day event at Crystal Mountain from February 25-27. Any team that participates and raises $15,000 or more will earn an all-expenses paid trip to Vail, CO for the national Awards celebration. Vertical Express for CAN DO MS hopes to raise between $50,000-$60,000 before March 15.

A Terrible Beauty will have a team at the Crystal Mountain event.  

Vertical Express for Can Do MS, is an event for skiers, boarders and telemarkers of all ages. It is part of a national non-profit organization and is a leading provider of programs aiding people with MS and their support partners.

Dan Stewart, who is coordinating the Terrible Beauty and Crystal Mountain events said fundraisers are designed to bring awareness to what people CAN DO with MS, not what they can’t do. The local dollars raised will help people with MS and their support partners, Stewart said.

The Crystal Mountain event is chock full of activities including snow events (such as a poker-run and scavenger hunt), dancing, music, food, drinks (including generous donations from Alaskan Brewing company and Absolut Vodka) and prizes.

Garvey O’Brien lives with MS, and is quick to point out that is only one part of who she is as a person. Although she has experienced a few struggles with the disease recently, she does not let it define her.

During the largest growth period of the restaurant, she lost the use of her legs, and at one point had at least a seizure a day; it temporarily put her in a wheelchair.  She's overcome these obstacles and there isn’t much stopping her now. She is now able to navigate the restaurant with a cane, an ability she attributes to a new miracle drug recently approved by the FDA. 

MS in Garvey O’Brien’s family has a genetic component, it appears. Her grandmother and uncle died from it. A sister also has MS.

Garvey O’Brien, is happy to share her MS experience with people who inquire about her condition, but she would much rather talk about the restaurant and the community. She is excited that A Terrible Beauty is going to be a vendor at both the and .

“We have seen incredible growth in a recessed economy,” Garvey O’Brien said. “We have been incredibly blessed.”

During the time Garvey O’Brien spent confined to a wheelchair, her greatest frustration  was the inability to continue her restaurant duties. The O’Brien’s decided to open the Irish Market, where she could sit and do the books and wait on customers there.

The Irish Market, located in the back of the restaurant, offers all things Irish in addition to a bakery.  The bakery items are made daily, and include sausage rolls, Irish Soda Bread, and goods imported from Ireland. There are T-shirts, hats, and other fun trinkets.

A Terrible Beauty has experienced tremendous growth, in part, Garvey O'Brien says, because they use the highest quality of meats that are all natural and hormone free.

“We are truly gourmet pub food,” said Garvey O’Brien.

The fundraiser for MS is only one charitable event at A Terrible Beauty. They try to do something about once per month. On March 4-6, there will be a three-day Irish Fest to benefit the leukemia and lymphoma society, with a percentage of proceeds going to that cause. It'll be quite the party. Expect Irish dancing, music and the Eastside Firefighters Pipe and Drum Corps.

In May, A Terrible Beauty has planned another three-day event to benefit the Susan G. Komen three-day walk for breast cancer. Banger dogs and burgers will be available, and if they can persuade some brave souls, men in pink Speedos will wash cars in the parking lot. That should be exciting.

Regular customer, Fay Moss said, “It is a real Irish pub. They are full of Irish humor, and they change things constantly to buy you in to the experience. I go there for the good food, games, and to share good times with friends.”

This Friday's event will kick off at 5:30 p.m., with children welcome until 9 p.m. A $10 donation is suggested. Live music will be onsite, with drink specials, and for any T-shirts or hoodies purchased at the Irish Market, a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the Vertical MS Event. Garvey O’Brien expects a busy crowd on Friday night.

For more information about Vertical MS and the complete schedule for Crystal Mountain activities