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COVID-19: Prince George restaurants celebrating St. Patrick’s Day under B.C.’s new mandate

Province ordered cancellation of events with more than 50 people
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer
St Patrick's Day Beer Pint-1
St. Patrick's Day. (via Stock image)

It’s the luckiest of all days on the calendar, especially if you’re Irish.

However, St. Patrick’s Day 2020 may look a bit different at some Prince George restaurants today (March 17) after the B.C. government has mandated all gatherings of more than 50 people to be cancelled during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

On Monday (March 16), Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry put the ban in place after it originally was for more than 250 people, but the number reduced after she and Health Minister Adrian Dix reported 30 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in two days, bringing B.C.’s total to 103 along with three new deaths.

The new order has affected several local establishments this evening as most places will limit its customer intake to 50 at a time.

This includes The Black Clover, CrossRoads Brewery, Farmhouse Catering and the Westwood Pub, all of which has St. Patrick’s Day-themed events scheduled that have now been altered to meet the province’s new conditions.

THE BLACK CLOVER

Open tonight as normal, the Fifth Street pub is going through with its St. Paddy’s Day Party, but has postponed its draw prize until further notice.

Patrons in attendance have a chance to win a trip to Ireland and tickets to see The Hella Jega Tour concert, which consists of Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer.

CROSSROADS BREWING

The green theme will be on display at the Fifth avenue-George Street distillery, but will also be limiting its capacity to 50 people starting today in cooperation with the provincial government and Northern Health Authority.

In a message to PrinceGeorgeMatters, CrossRoads says it plans on serving $5 16oz of its Iron Bridge oatmeal stout, an Irish Coffee Lager cask and is set to have live music in the evening.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

After much deliberation and reflection surrounding the Corona virus, it is with sadness that we announce we will be limiting the restaurant/taproom to a maximum of 50 patrons at any one time for 2 weeks. This will be effective immediately and we will be prepared to fully close if the situation and recommendations warrant it. Daryl, as a physician and Bjorn, employed by Northern Health, and as members of our community, our province, our country and also global citizens, we feel it is the necessary and right thing to do. We should be ahead of the recommendations and do our best to help flatten the curve for the COVID-19 infection. Regarding St Patrick’s day 🍀 we will still be having 16oz of our Oatmeal Stout on special for $5, an Irish Coffee Lager cask, as well as live music in the evening -but again with only 50 patrons in our taproom at any one time. As guests, be assured of an increase of precautions by staff in regards to frequent hand washing, and cleaning of surfaces such as menus, door handles and debit/credit machines! And don’t forget you can order our pizza and beer on Skip the Dishes for delivery during this time 😏

A post shared by CrossRoads Brewing Distillery (@crossroadscraft) on

FARMHOUSE CATERING

Unfortunately, the Fourth Avenue-Dominion street business has cancelled its St. Patrick’s Day dinner due to COVID-19 concerns and B.C.’s new mandate.

However, Farmhouse says its main focus is switching to providing freezer/lunch meals with free delivery as well as delivering to the general public every Monday and Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

WESTWOOD PUB

In addition to limiting the capacity to 50 people any one time, Westwood says its postponing all of its events that could bring in larger crowds, such as trivia nights, live music and fundraisers.

Regardless of where you choose to spend your St. Patrick’s Day, be safe, party responsibly and please don’t drink and drive.

PrinceGeorgeMatters will continue to update a running list of postponements and cancellations in Prince George as they progress.

Did we miss a St. Patrick's Day event that's been cancelled or altered due to COVID-19? Let us know by sending an email to news@princegeorgematters.com.