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Posted on Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 6:01 a.m.

Ann Arbor area's bars and restaurants see green on St. Patrick's Day

By Janet Miller

greenbeer.jpg

Tatiana Kline, a bartender at The Blue Leprechaun on South University in Ann Arbor, holds up a pint of green beer as the staff prepared for St. Patrick's Day.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

St. Patrick’s Day brings a different kind of green to many area bars and restaurants: With early hours, drink and food specials and many revelers taking the day off to celebrate, cash registers are expected to ring green on Wednesday.

The Blue Leprechaun Irish pub on South University Avenue is bracing for one of the busiest days of the year, said Scott Meinke, general manager. Doors open at 7 a.m., four hours head of normal, and Meinke expects there to be a line.

“Last year, there were 30 people in line before we opened,” he said.

While Meinke wouldn’t say how much he expects business to increase that day, he said he expects it to he hopping all day and night.

 “It’s one of the better days of the year,” he said.

While college students usually dominate the day, St. Patrick’s Day attracts all ages, Meinke said. Last year, a group of women in their 50s came early and stayed late, and Meinke expects to see them again this year.

Bloody Marys, Irish coffee and green beer will flow during the early hours; there will be a $5 corned beef hash breakfast special that will run throughout the day. The pub will abandon its regular menu and limit it to Irish offerings such as corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew and Shepherd’s Pie.

The Blue Leprechaun joins many in the region as it plans to market the day beyond food and drink specials. It’s a boon having St. Patrick’s Day fall on a Wednesday this year, most restaurant and bar owners said.

"If St. Patrick’s Day falls on a weeknight, we are twice as busy as we usually are,” said Keith Orr, owner of aut\BAR in Braun Court. “If it falls on a weekend, we’re only 25 percent busier. This year, it’s like having an extra weekend night. In this day and age, it will give us a little bonus for some breathing room.” 

The bar will have an Irish-themed food and drink menu for the night.

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company on West Washington Street stretches the St. Patrick’s Day celebration over three weeks, offering five Irish-themed choices on its food menu for three-quarters of March. 

But they stop at serving green beer.

"Our brewer doesn’t like green beer,” said Chris Carrington, general manager. Still, beer flows freely. 

“We see a lot more people drinking beer at lunch than normal,” Carrington said.

And they see a lot more business. Grizzly Peak will increase its staff by 10 on Wednesday, and if last year is any indication, the day’s receipts should be two-and-a-half times a normal week night, Carrington said.

Doug Foltz said the economy makes it too difficult to predict turnout for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration at his Scorekeepers Sportsgrill and Pub on Maynard Street. 

He’s extended his hours, opening at 10 a.m. instead of the usual 3 p.m., and there will be green Coors Light on tap. Last St. Patrick’s Day started slow but picked up later in the day. 

“We had a nice crowd. It was never packed, but it was far from empty,” Foltz said.

He’s going to skip offering the green eggs and ham he has in the past. “People didn’t come in early enough to order it,” Foltz said. “It didn’t pan out.”

Paul Thomas, general manager at Casey’s Tavern on Depot Street, said he serves more food than drinks on St. Patrick’s Day. 

“We’re not a huge drinking emporium. We’re more of a restaurant than a bar,” he said. 

Still, Casey’s will dish up corn beef and cabbage all week and Thomas will bring in his collection of Irish music to set the mood. He expects to see a bigger crowd than a normal Wednesday.

"People will be out and about more,” he said.

Still, some restaurants and pubs sit on the sidelines. This will be the first St. Patrick’s Day for the Jolly Pumpkin Café and Brewery on South Main Street, and it will be business as usual, said Maggie Long, general manager and executive chef. Conor O’Neill’s Irish pub is across the street, and they are sure to attract a large St. Patrick’s Day crowd. Jolly Pumpkin will keep low key, at least this year, and see what happens, Long said.

Andy Deloney, vice president for public affairs at the Michigan Restaurant Association, said most food and beverage operations anticipate an uptick in sales, although how much varies widely, he said. 

For Irish bars and restaurants, St. Patrick’s Day can be a make-or-break day. 

“Some depend on it to make their week, their month or even their year,” he said. “For some, it’s a huge event and seeing just an increase isn’t enough. They want big numbers.”

Non-Irish restaurants and bars still try to muscle in on the day, Deloney said.

 “They’ll offer food or beverage specials, or put a new, Irish twist on traditional favorites.”

St. Patrick’s Day also sees many restaurants and bars advertise in new ways. “Many of them do radio advertising for St. Patrick’s Day, even those who don’t normally advertise on the radio,” Deloney said. “They want to get the message out that theirs is the place to be.”

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Comments

treetowncartel

Wed, Mar 17, 2010 : 8:20 p.m.

As a protestant, my mother instilled the wearing of orange on St. Patty's day at an early age. You are right UAW, most people just don't get it, except for the staut Irish catholics. Not to mention those people wearing orange invented modern day terroism, something the middle east tries to take credit for.

Atticus F.

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 2:45 p.m.

phillycheesteak, St Patty's day means different things to different people. I'm sure the Americanized version of St Patty's day is quite different than the Irish version...But I love it, and so do the majority of people who celebrate it. And I consider our version to be a tradition as well. So have fun at mass, and try not to get too upset while we're out defiling this "holy" day.

djm12652

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 1:24 p.m.

Erie go Brea!

PhillyCheeseSteak

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.

uawisok - You can wear orange "and get away with it" here in the U.S. because most people out drinking on St. Patrick's Day are not Irish. St. Patrick's Day is "amateur day"! "Real" Irish people are on not in bars & pubs on March 17th (unless they are playing in a band). They celebrate the saint's day at church, and/or spend the other 364 days of year learning Irish history, listening to Irish music and going to concerts/shows, learning Irish gaelic, reading Irish history, drinking Irish beer and whiskey, baking soda bread and other Irish foods... Isn't it wonderful to be an American and wear whatever color you want? Too bad here in the U.S. you can't don the sash, beat the drum, march in an orange parade, or become a member of an orange lodge. You can only wear an orange t-shirt while others around you drink green beer, wearing t-shirts that say "kiss me I'm Irish".

David Bardallis

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 11:09 a.m.

PhillyCheeseSteak, indeed! Hope to see you AND your daughter at Conor's tomorrow. Goody, funny you should ask: http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/the-local-beer-drinkers-guide-to-st-patricks-day/ Cheers!

Patti Smith

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 11:02 a.m.

Hey thanks, Philly Cheese Steak! That's awesome :) I only know French from my high school class and I think it's Joyeaux Anniversaire or something like that :)

PhillyCheeseSteak

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:52 a.m.

Patti - Breithl shona duit! ("happy birthday to you" in Irish-Gaelic)

uawisok

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:51 a.m.

I like to wear orange on st pats day and always get away with it because americans are ignorant of history!!

Patti Smith

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:41 a.m.

Hey, thanks everyone for going to all of this trouble to celebrate my birthday tomorrow! :) :) For real, when I was a kid, that's what it seemed like! I hope I can make it to the Corner for some of the Lucky Charm Stout!

PhillyCheeseSteak

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:40 a.m.

David Bardallis - Ha ha, you caught me showing my age! Of course, I understand that crowded bars are the norm on St. Patrick's Day (and help our local businesses), but I am hoping that if a bar/pub chooses to bring in entertainment, such as Irish dancers, that there's room for them to actually...dance! And those "hard shoes" the Irish dancers wear? They are REALLY hard! And those Irish dancers' legs kick so often and so high! In a crowd! Beware!

David Bardallis

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:22 a.m.

I will be doing my part to provide a little Keynesian stimulus to the local economy. And yeah, gee, I hope there's no smoke, noise, or people at the Irish bar on St. Patrick's Day. I sure hate that!;)

Karma21

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:18 a.m.

Does anyone know if there is a list of Ann Arbor bars that are having specials on St. Patrick's day?

PhillyCheeseSteak

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 10:14 a.m.

My daughter's dance school, the O'Hare School of Irish Dance, is sending Irish step dancers to perform at Conor O'Neill's all throughout the day tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the pub won't be too: 1) smokey 2) crowded with drunk people 3) loud!!! There's lots of wonderful Irish culture/traditions to enjoy on St. Patrick's Day, unfortunately for some, it's just become a day to drink too much.

Old West Sider

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.

We will be going to Metzger's on Zeeb Road for Corned Beef and Cabbage and a stein of German Beer

jeffsab

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 9:25 a.m.

@cubicle I am not surprised, as Jolly Pumpkin has poor service even when it's not busy. I like the bar, love the beer, and the food is decent enough, but the waitstaff is borderline incompetent.

cubicle

Tue, Mar 16, 2010 : 8:38 a.m.

I guess the people running Jolly Pumpkin just don't get it. I tried going there on Halloween and the staff acted like they had no idea they were going to be swamped. Halloween...your business has the name Pumpkin in it...there's gotta be a connection here somewhere... For a bar that's the new guy on the block, it sure seems like they're shooting themselves in the foot every chance they get. I'm fairly certain the overflow traffic they'd get from Conor's would be worth opening earlier. *shrug* To each their own.