NYC Bars Prepare For Uncertain Pandemic St. Patrick’s Day

NEW YORK CITY — Great food, drink and music will greet St. Patrick's Day revelers who find themselves inside The Hawthorn bar and restaurant.

But some unlucky Irish or would-be Irish could find themselves outside if the Chelsea establishment reaches the state's strict 35 percent capacity limit for indoor dining.

Kevin Fitzgerald, who co-owns the eatery, said it will follow the guidelines as it has through the coronavirus pandemic. He'll also follow the rules on March 19 two days after the holiday — traditionally big business for a New York City watering hole — when the indoor capacity limit increases to 50 percent.

It's part of a familiar pandemic pattern for the city's struggling restaurants — relaxed restrictions coming too little too late.

"Even though the restrictions are relaxing I’m still in the same predicament," Fitzgerald said.

The Hawthorn, like other bars and restaurants, will mark its second pandemic St. Patrick's Day on March 17. The traditionally brisk and boozy day will likely be relatively subdued across the city, although it'll certainly be better business than last year, when establishments just went into full lockdown.

But they'll miss out on whatever boost will come with the expansion of indoor dining capacity just two days later.

Given Gov. Andrew Cuomo's frequent warnings and crackdowns on alcohol-fueled pandemic gatherings, it appears unlikely he'll do as he did for Valentine's Day weekend: move up the date of loosening restrictions to let restaurants take advantage of holiday business.

Not that Fitzgerald would necessarily mind, despite the likely loss in business. He said he along with fellow co-owners Graeme Healy and Martin O'Shea — who all have nearly 100 years of combined experience in bars and restaurants in the city and Ireland — feel "fed to the wolves" by Cuomo's last-minute closings and reopening decisions.

"Not only is it too little too late, but in our industry… every time you make a change it costs us money," he said.

"I really don’t think government understands how bars and restaurants work,” he said.

Fitzgerald isn't alone feeling caught between see-sawing restrictions and uncertain business on St. Patrick's Day.

Teresa Morgan, owner of Paddy's of Park Slope, said keeping people socially distanced and the requirement to order food with drinks will be the biggest challenge, given that usually people come in just for drinks on the holiday.

"It’s all new to every one of us," she said.

More than 90 percent of New York City's eateries failed to pay at least part of their December rent, according to the latest New York Hospitality Alliance survey.

Fitzgerald said The Hawthorn, which opened amid the pandemic in August, is among those who struggled to keep up with payments. Expanding capacity to 50 percent doesn't necessarily help pay the landlord 100 percent of the rent, though, he said.

Much better is expanding hours past a state-mandated 11 p.m. closing time. New Yorkers are "night people" who bring in big business, Fitzgerald said.

"If they extended the opening hours that would help bars and restaurant a hell of a lot more than expanding the inside,” he said. "This 50 percent doesn’t really help anybody."

As for St. Patrick's Day itself, how New Yorkers will celebrate in a partially-reopened New York City is still an open question.

"Nobody knows how it's going to go — not even God himself knows what's going on," Morgan said. "We just have to hope we can get the luck of the Irish."

Patch writer Anna Quinn contributed to this report.