Episode #301 "We Didn't Start the Fire"

With Claudia's pregnancy scare behind them, Sean's on top of the world. On a whim, the first thing he does it quit his job. Two weeks later, he takes Claudia and the kids to the Red Boot Pub, a classic Staten Island Irish bar, ostensibly to celebrate the fact that she isn't pregnant. But moments after arriving he announces that he quit his job and bought the bar. For the past two week he's pretended to go to work but actually stayed at home watching soap operas. Eddie convinced him that joining him as an investor in the bar was a can't-miss opportunity. Claudia's appalled. Sean's an electrician, not a business man. The fact that he's giving out free drinks to everyone in the bar makes that very clear. Sean protests that that's his strategy for bringing in customers, but Claudia focuses on the empty cash register. Sean tells Claudia that he remembers when their grandfather used to bring him and Eddie to the bar. He had his first beer there. The place is like a shrine. The kids, along with Brad, are having some fun exploring the bar. Brad and Lily go crazy when it looks like the bartender is going to serve them an actual drink. Henry's doing his best to consume the bar's entire inventory of maraschino cherries. Sean's elation quickly disappears, however, when he discovers a cache of gas cans, oily rags and matches. This has to be Eddie's work. When Sean confronts Eddie, Eddie admits that someone's planning to torch the place for the insurance money. That was the "can't-miss" part of the deal. Sean protests that he owns the bar, but Eddie reminds him that he merely owns a piece of the bar along with several other investors. When Claudia finds out what Eddie's up to, she's not as shocked as Sean. The insurance will pay a hefty sum, and they're not making any money right now. Eddie tells Sean to face it. The only way the bar will make money is if it's on fire. But Sean has the final say in the matter when he cancels the insurance policy on the bar. Now their job is to roll up their sleeves and make the Red Boot a successful venture. In a little speech to the bar's patrons he tells them they have a choice: they can have a bar with real history or they can have the place down the street that has seventy-five different kinds of margaritas. If everyone's had a good time tonight, they should leave some money on the bar.