Seal Beach St. Patrick's Day Shut Down, Bars Closed This Week

SEAL BEACH, CA — All Seal Beach bars will be closed this week, and restaurants are relegated to "take-out" orders only, the City of Seal Beach announced late Monday.

Based upon the President and our Governor's guidance, all Seal Beach bars will be closed as of 11:59 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 11:59 p.m., Seal Beach Sgt. Nick Nicholas told Patch. Additionally, customers wanting to order to-go from Seal Beach restaurants would be able to do so, as of Monday, it was declared through an emergency update.

"We wanted to ensure our residents' safety through the busy St. Patrick's Day week," Nicholson said.

Thousands typically gather at the small beach community over St. Patrick's Day thanks to a crush of Irish bars on Main Street. Seal Beach is navy town, the day typically draws seamen for some heavy drinking as they wait to ship out. The city is also home to one of the nation's largest retirement community - Leisure World. The decision to close over the Irish holiday may have made a huge difference in the spread of coronavirus, which is already spreading via community transmissions in Orange County.

Patch spoke with several pubs on Monday, and though the desire to remain open stemmed from the favored holiday, each person who answered the phone echoed the same sentiment: Seal Beach needs to look out for the health and well-being of their own.

Clancy's, a Seal Beach bar that does not serve food, made the determination to be closed on St. Patrick's Day prior to the announcement by the city of Seal Beach.

"The owner decided to pull the plug and be safe on St. Patrick's Day," they told us.

Monday afternoon, the Irisher By The Sea, O'Malley's on Main Street, and Hennessey's were all planning to remain open, if the city allowed. Each had taken precautions toward protecting their guests, from sanitization to removing stools, and separating tables in keeping with social distance.

Many Seal Beach Irish pubs were in full swing midday, as guests filled bars in advance of St. Patrick's Day. Meanwhile, the staff wondered whether or not the store would be serving green beer Tuesday.

Seal Beach has multiple Irish pubs, making it a hub of activity for those who enjoy "the wearing o' the green" on St. Patrick's Day.

O'Malley's On Main is typically a massive draw, as the laid back spot has that dark wood and cozy feel of a traditional Irish pub. Hennessey's is also an enormous draw for visitors over the holiday.

In the year of the new coronavirus and the social distancing that began in earnest Monday, St. Patrick's Day in Seal Beach will be quiet.