Thursday marks the return of St. Patrick’s Day, one of the busiest business days on the calendar for bars and restaurants.
It also marks the first time since 2019 that local establishments won’t have to scrap or scale down their celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario has lifted most of its COVID-19 health restrictions, including capacity restrictions for indoor public settings. A province-wide mask mandate remains in place, however it is scheduled to come to an end on Monday.
On Wednesday, Global News reached out to several local watering holes to see what they had on tap for St. Paddy’s Day.
At Joe Kool’s, the Richmond Row mainstay near Central Avenue, bartenders will be serving up Guinness, Jameson cocktails and more, with live music featured from noon until 4 p.m.
“It is good to get people back in the swing of things. Mental health wise, it’s huge,” said owner Mike Smith, noting that he understands some in the community may still be cautious about venturing out, including those who would have come for St. Patrick’s in past years.
“There’s caution on a lot of customers part and there’s caution that we’re taking, but we are happy to be getting things back on track,” said Smith, who also owns Fellini Koolini’s, The Runt Club, and Toboggan.
Over on Carling Street, Londoners can also expect draught pints of the black stuff to be served up at Chaucer’s Pub, along with meat dishes accompanied with a Guinness sauce.
Owner Jerry Pribil, who also owns the adjoining Marienbad Restaurant, says he expects at-capacity numbers similar to those seen on Fridays and Saturdays. Pribil says the pub has roughly 55 to 58 chairs, and says bar stools have been removed to keep crowding down.
“That’s actually for me and for people to feel comfortable so there will be no overcrowding,” he said. “Sometimes in the past, I did have the stools… and I did put them away. I don’t plan to put them out right now because I do not want overcrowding.”
Pribil added that after a challenging two years of the pandemic, it felt good to see the return of a more normal St. Patrick’s Day.
“We are so grateful for the support we have from locals. It’s been really, truly amazing for the past two years what Londoners and southwestern Ontario have done for us, because they kept us alive.”
In the north end, the Stoneybrook favourite The Waltzing Weasel at Adelaide Street and Windermere Road will also be running at full clip with food specials and its usual selection of Irish draught imports, including Guinness, Harp, Kilkenny, and Smithwicks.
“I’m sure like a lot of other places, we’re a little tight on staff, but we should be ready,” said owner Mike McCoubrey. “We’re doing a Guinness-battered shrimp and shepherd’s pie as our specials tomorrow. We’re expecting to be busy.”
It was two years ago Thursday when the province declared a state of emergency, ordering some businesses to be closed, including bars and restaurants, daycares, private schools and theatres.
“We didn’t have St. Patrick’s Day at all in 2020. In 2021, we did, but I believe there was seating restrictions,” McCoubrey said.
“I think people are ready to, kind of, get back at it. The weather’s good, and I think that it’s been a long haul. People want to socialize again.”
Environment Canada’s forecast confirms the weather will indeed be good on Thursday, with sunny skies expected along with an afternoon high of 17 C, making it the warmest St. Patrick’s Day since 2012’s all-time record high of 22.3 C.
McCoubrey and Smith say outdoor seating will be available for those looking to enjoy a pint and some fresh air.
“We’ll have to get product from inside because our (patio) soft drink and beer lines aren’t open yet because we’ll still have nights below freezing… But if people want to sit out, we certainly want to accommodate them,” Smith said. Outdoor seating will also be available at The Runt Club and Toboggan, he said.
If green beer is on your St. Patrick’s Day checklist, you’re in luck. All three say they will be offering it.
“I did have a couple of calls from a couple of places, sort of microbreweries who thought they might brew some green beer for the day. I think they decided that they weren’t going to do that,” McCoubrey said.
However, all three also note that most patrons prefer to leave their pints unadulterated.
“It’s funny, we always talk about green beer, and you pull up the green food colouring and most people say, ‘Don’t put that in my beer.’ But we’re willing to do it just because it’s fun for some people,” Smith said.
“There are some young ones that they do like to taste it, but not so overwhelmingly… They’re only very few,” said Pribil.
Bars and restaurants won’t be the only ones busy on Thursday.
London police will be out in full force throughout the day. The service has launched its annual #DontInviteUs2UrParty campaign, warning revelers to celebrate responsibly.
“You can expect an increased police presence in relation to enforcing the laws. We’ll be enforcing laws in relation to open liquor, underage drinking, City of London bylaw offences,” said police Cst. Sandasha Bough.
“We really want to ensure that the streets remain accessible at all times.”
Bough says police will be monitoring all areas of the city, including the downtown core and student-heavy areas around Fanshawe College and Western University.
“Public safety is always our first priority, and we just want to encourage everyone to enjoy themselves, but to do so responsibly.”