Outside Byrnes Irish Pub’s Bath Location. Courtesy of Patrick Byrnes
Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, local Irish pubs and breweries are gearing up for a tamed down version of St. Patrick’s Day this Wednesday.
“It’s not going to be like a normal year,” said Patrick Byrnes, manager the Byrnes’ Irish Pub in downtown Brunswick, the second location of the Bath-based business.
Byrnes said the pub will not have live music or breakfast this year and will instead offer a “more scaled-back” lunch and dinner while trying to use their outdoor space and do as much take-out as possible.
At O’Donoghue’s Pub on Pleasant Street in Brunswick, owner Patrick O’Donoghue also said this year will be smaller due to COVID, but since they are operating at half capacity, they still expect to fill up.
“We’ve got decorations up and we’ve got Guinness on tap and we’ve got plenty of Jameson on the shelf and all the traditional fanfare that goes with things, but because of COVID it’s a scaled-back version of what we normally do,” O’Donoghue said. “When we opened three years ago we were elbow to elbow, at capacity, and a line out the door, but that’s not this year.”‘
Last year, Gov. Janet Mills called for a statewide cancellation of St. Patrick’s Day events in order to minimize crowds, promote social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I had all my shelves, all my fridges, all my freezers, all my coolers … stocked to the gills for St. Patrick’s Day of 2020, and it didn’t happen, and I lost a fortune,” O’Donoghue said.
O’Donoghue estimated a 25 percent decrease from pre-COVID business, and Byrnes estimated that the pub has seen at least 50% fewer customers.
“It’s been a tough year,” Byrnes said. “It’s kind of been make it up as we go and try to just survive.”
At Moderation Brewing Company in downtown Brunswick, St. Patrick’s Day will only be “marginally more festive than last year,” when the taproom was completely shut down, according to co-owner Philip Welsh. The brewery is open for curbside take-out only.
Welsh wrote in an email that since transitioning to strictly beer-to-go, Moderation has canned and bottled almost four times as much beer in 2020 than previous years. Overall, however, Welsh said that production is still down, since draft beer usually makes up most of their volume.
Byrnes said his pub decided to do take-out only on St. Patrick’s Day last year, which is normally their busiest day.
“It was the hardest thing we probably ever had to do in terms of a business decision,” Byrnes said.
However, Byrnes and O’Donoghue said they are confident their businesses will make it through the pandemic.
“There’s a sign at BIW that says through these gates pass the greatest shipbuilders in the world. Well, through my doors pass the greatest patrons in the world,” O’Donoghue said, noting that a combination of a strong customer base, and being adaptable, gives him confidence the business will be fine.
Under Mills’ “Moving Maine Forward” plan, the state aims to reopen with limited capacity indoor service at bars, distilleries and tasting rooms on March 26.
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