St. Paul hoping St. Patrick's Day will bring more business to downtown
Minnesota's capital city is hoping to have the luck of the Irish Monday during its St. Patrick's Day festivities.
The holiday is a big event for downtown St. Paul at a time when many downtowns are still working to get back to pre-pandemic levels of business.
Pat Boemer, the owner of Patrick McGovern's Pub on West Seventh Street, says at least 5,000 people attended their Saturday party.
He says the area comes alive for events like St. Patrick's Day and the state hockey and wrestling tournaments.
But Boemer says his lunch crowds are down significantly.
A downtown supermarket recently closed and buildings sit vacant.
That won't be a problem Monday, when a sea of green leaves Rice Park at noon to start the traditional St. Patrick's Day Parade.
"We're very proud of our Irish heritage in St. Paul," said Ralph Matthews, a parade organizer with the St. Patrick's Day Association. "You'll see dozens of Irish clans, members of the community in the parade, the pipe bands. The energy down here is like no other on St. Patrick's Day."
Kendrick Hall was out with friends Sunday garbed in green. He thinks the bounceback for downtown St. Paul is underway.
"We waited about 15-20, maybe 25 minutes, in the line last night to get into Tom Reid's," he said. "It hasn't been like that lately so that's a good sign."
"People that live here are very proud of it," Matthews said. "They live here forever. We're very entrenched with tradition and downtown St. Paul's a big part of that."
The Saint Paul Downtown Alliance says nearly 800,000 visitors are expected to visit downtown in March, the busiest month of the year.
