Meet the new face of popular bar and music venue Anna O’Brien’s

New management is coming to a popular Irish pub and music venue in Mōʻiliʻili in Honolulu.

Longtime patrons of the beloved dive bar were preparing to bid farewell to Anna O’Brien’s and ‘fáilte’ to ‘Tavana at Anna’s’ — but new owner and local musician Tavana McMoore says he’ll be keeping the iconic name as he takes over the nearly 60-year-old establishment.

The bar first opened its doors in 1969 as ‘Anna Bannanas,’ and after 40 years of being in business, the Anna name was passed along to barman Bill Comerford in 2010.

Tavana said the upstairs, which includes a stage and will be the main showroom, will be called Tavana’s at Anna’s. The downstairs pub will remain and retain the name Anna O’Brien’s.

HPR had the chance to speak with Comerford as he prepared to retire, and now musical artist Tavana McMoore — known professionally as Tavana — will become the new face of Anna’s.

HPR spoke with Tavana to learn why he wanted to become the bar and live music venue’s newest frontman.

His connection with Anna O’Brien’s and Bill Comerford goes way back — in fact, it’s part of how he got started as a musician, he told HPR.

“I’ve known him since I was in my early 20s. He was one of the first people to hire me in Waikīkī to play music,” Tavana said.

Tavana said that Comerford was the first to reach out to him about the possibility of taking over the bar.

“The more I thought about it, I just kept thinking of how I’ve spent so much time talking with friends about improving the music scene here and uniting it in a way,” he said.

“This is a huge opportunity to actually do something about that … so I’m gonna take the ride.”

Under his management, the bar and music venue will be hosting monthly open mic nights as well as a variety of live music events. More information can be found on their Instagram page.

This story aired on The Conversation on July 22, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.