'The most excitement in years': Calgary bars gear up for restriction-free St. Patrick’s Day

Thursday marks the first time in three years that Calgary bars and restaurants are able host St. Patrick's Day festivities without any public health restrictions.

Celebrations of the holiday were largely cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The major boost in sales is much-needed for venues like Jamesons Pub on 17 Avenue where owner Harry Dimitriadis says the holiday is typically the venue's busiest day.

“We’ll do a week’s worth of sales on St. Patrick’s Day alone, so this is a huge relief for businesses,” Dimitriadis said.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hook, we’ve been getting emails about reservations for about a month now as well, so I think people are just ready to let loose, hang out, drink together and have a great time.”

Jeff Beddoes, managing partner for St. James Corner, agrees.

He says his staff are overjoyed to finally see smiling faces entering the doors again as a steady flow of traffic allows for major profits.

“We’ve had, by far, the most excitement in years, and people are ready to celebrate,” Beddoes said.

The atmosphere in Calgary pubs will also be heightened this year as there are no longer any restrictions on live music or dancing.

That news is music to the ears of Jamie Allanach, a Scottish musician who moved to Calgary three years ago.

 Allanach has gone several months without a gig due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was very tough with this delay of missing out on parties, so it’s great to finally be busy again, because there’s definitely a real buzz now and I think that everyone is so relieved we’re entering into an endemic stage,” Allanach said.

“I used to have to tell people not to dance … Which is basically asking people nicely not to have a good time. This service industry is a huge contributor to a lot of musicians like me who rely on showcasing our original material to everyday people in bars or pubs.”

That kind of excitement is shared by bar-goers like Katja Ruohio, donned an Irish jersey and leprechaun hat to celebrate.

“This is so great, and it just kind of reminds me of the last time I was actually able to travel and actually visit Ireland for St. Patrick's Day,” Ruohio said.

“It’s good to get back to normal because so many restaurants are struggling, so I hope we can support them and that these places get packed today.”

Ruohio estimates bartenders will go through 40 or 50 kegs on Thursday to keep up with the demand.

The increase in customers is welcoming for servers like Santana Webb, who says she feels like her job is more secure now that restrictions have been removed and business is picking up.

“It’s such a relief to get back to this sense of normalcy,” Webb said.

“The industry has been so up and down, and it's been hard to gauge, but I think now we’re finally coming out of the haze and hopefully it’s really long term this time.”