Pittsburgh Businesses Hope To Find Pot Of Gold With Return Of St. Patrick's Day Parade
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade is making a long-awaited comeback on Saturday.
After experiencing some misfortune during the pandemic, businesses along the parade route and around the city are excited to experience the luck of the Irish this weekend.
Right off the parade route on Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh, the St. Patrick's Day shenanigans have already begun inside Mitchell's Restaurant and Bar.
After two years of cancelations and postponements, owner Jim Mitchell is feeling lucky about the parade's big return.
"Two to 3 inches of snow isn't gonna stop the Irish," Mitchell said about the impending winter storm on parade day.
On average, Mitchell said he does about nine days worth of business on parade day. This year, he anticipates the line to be out the door with customers feasting for green beer and biscuits, a stark comparison from two years ago when the parade was first canceled.
"Almost 20 kegs came in. And that following Monday, we got shut down, 250 days with COVID but we made it through and Mitchell's is still standing after 116 years," said Mitchell.
Mike's Beer Bar on the North Shore is usually maxed out on parade day, which is its second busiest day of the year. The bar is ready for a comeback after hearing crickets the past couple of holidays
Tiffany McFall, a managing partner at Mike's Beer Bar, said it's usually, "very high energy. We obviously have the Irish music playing in the background so everybody's amped up. And maybe a little sauced after the parade too."
And with more than a quarter-million spectators and over 200 marching bands and floats, the return of this major event should certainly bring businesses a well-earned pot of gold.
"We're survivors. And we're still standing tall in downtown Pittsburgh," Mitchell said.
The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday. For more information about the route, click here.