‘Slightly Stoopid’ lead singer buys Ocean Beach Irish pub

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — Miles Doughty, front man of “Slightly Stoopid,” has returned home to San Diego to take over a beloved Irish pub in Ocean Beach.

The Harp, located right on Newport Avenue, has been a favorite among residents of the beachfront community for more than 20 years.

But, just a few months ago when the previous owner suddenly passed, it appeared the tavern was on the brink of closing or falling into the same fate as other dive bars like Bar Pink, who became North Park’s Part Time Lover when a corporate investor swooped in.

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That’s when Doughty, alongside a few of his best friends, jumped in.

“I mean it’s awesome, dude,” Doughty told KUSI on Thursday. “I mean I literally grew up a 150 feet (away) from the bar and my dad still lives there. I went to Ocean Beach Elementary.”

“It’s really cool. I mean you’re part of a place that we’ve really never left. I mean we’ve toured the world, but we always come home so it’s cool,” he continued.

Doughty, an Ocean Beach native himself, is hoping to maintain the local atmosphere that solidified The Harp as a fixture of the community.

“I think that’s kind of the new way, just the corporate identities come in,” he said. “Even if they try to make it look like the town, it’s not the same vibe. It doesn’t have the same feel.”

That is not to say that there will not be any changes though. A famous musician himself, Doughty says he hopes to give The Harp new life not only a local watering hole, but as a hotspot for music.

“I think what it is is just bringing in bigger acts here,” he said. “All the friends that I’ve made through the circuit of touring, they’re all down to come down and play a show here, which is going to bring more attention not only to Ocean Beach, but the bar.”

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As someone whose high school reggae rock band began its rise to stardom by working the local circuit in Ocean Beach, Doughty also plans to give opportunities to other musicians working to build their careers right here in San Diego.

“What’s good is we’re going to embrace all the local bands as well, just because we were a local band here too, but we want to bring in national acts.”

The Harp is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. at 4395 Newport Ave., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Watch Dan Plante’s report for KUSI in the video player above.

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