A bartender died and another employee wound up in the hospital after they tried to break up an early morning fight at a popular Atlantic City bar Saturday.

A fight broke out around 5 a.m. at the Irish Pub on St. James Place, according to Atlantic County prosecutors. A group of people were asked to when a melee broke out, sources said.

Richard Rivera, 27, of Atlantic City was one of the employees that stepped in to break things up. He was stabbed and died from his wounds, said officials.

Rivera was well known and well liked by patrons of the Irish Pub, a friend told NBC 10 News.

Another employee Richard Kutch also was stabbed. He remained hospitalized on Monday, sources said. 

Luis Martinez, 25, of Newark, N.J. was arrested in connection to the stabbings. Martinez was arraigned Monday in Mays Landing, N.J. -- he is charged with murder.

He was at the bar celebrating a birthday with a group of five women, sources told NBC 10. Those women were the ones fighting when Rivera and Kutch tried to break things up, said sources.

Rivera's brother David spoke about his dead brother outside court. "He was a great guy," said Rivera.

Rivera's funeral is set for Wednesday.