While Santa Barbara County is still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, owners of local bars and breweries feel that they have been given a pot of gold by being allowed to open and spread St. Patrick’s Day cheer.
“It’s unbelievable that we got asked to close the day before St. Patrick’s Day last year, and this year we got the news that we can open indoors the day before St. Patrick’s Day,” Paul Dargan, owner of Dargan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara, told Noozhawk. “This year will be a baby celebration, but it’s a lot more than we got last year.”
On March 17, 2020, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department asked all bars, nightclubs, pubs, breweries and wineries to close for St. Patrick’s Day in hopes of combating the then-sudden coronavirus pandemic. The first case of COVID-19 was reported in the county just two days prior, and Public Health officials were scrambling to take the necessary actions to combat the spread of the novel virus.
With Santa Barbara County advancing to the less-restrictive red tier of the state’s tiered reopening framework on Tuesday, this St. Patrick’s Day — Wednesday — was expected to be a lot more lively as restaurants can reopen indoor dining and bars and breweries are free to operate outdoors.
Under the red tier guidelines, restaurants can offer indoor dining at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. Wineries, breweries and distilleries are able to open outdoors without the purchase of food, with table seating only and a 90-minute time limit per party. Wineries, breweries and distilleries that do serve food can also operate indoors at 25% capacity.
“All businesses deserve a little reprieve for the long year that we, and everyone, has endured,” Dargan said. “We are delighted to open indoors but will still make sure to provide a safe environment for our customers to celebrate the big day.”
Dargan’s brought in dancers from the Fire Dance Academy, a Santa Barbara Irish dance school, and the Greenway Academy of Irish Dance in Camarillo to show off their Irish jigs throughout the day, Dargan said. The pub also offered a limited menu of Irish food, including corned beef and cabbage, and shepherd’s pie.
“We’ll be playing Irish music all day, and we are decorating the place to look very green. St. Patrick’s Day is looking good for us this year,” Dargan said.
The James Joyce Irish Bar on State Street prepared for a busy St. Patrick’s Day and planned little giveaways of Guinness beer and Bushmills Irish Whiskey, according to Nick Lemaster, manager at The James Joyce.
The Red Piano had a full 12 hours of live nonstop music scheduled from noon to midnight, said Colin Campbell, spokesman for the bar. Campbell said the new ability to open indoors provides more seating opportunities for community members to take part in the festivities.
While Old Kings Road on State Street didn’t have specific plans for the holiday, the bar expected service to be busy throughout the day, according to Fielding Butler, a bartender at Old Kings Road.
“It’s going to be busy no matter what,” Butler told Noozhawk. “We’re just hoping people come out and enjoy themselves given everything that’s been thrown at us this past year.”
With all the excitement surrounding the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, the Santa Barbara Police Department reminded community members to celebrate responsibly and make sure to designate a sober driver if drinking was part of the holiday plan.
Santa Barbara police officers planned to be on patrol from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. Thursday looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
— Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
