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Green, no envy: Valley restaurants, bars roll out barrels
BOARDMAN
As revelers tuck into green eggs and maybe even a dash of green beer this morning, several local business owners expect a boost on an already popular holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, thanks to warm weather, a Saturday holiday and March Madness college basketball.
“We had wall-to-wall people in here Thursday night, and we expect to be the same Friday and Saturday. ... March is already our busiest month with March Madness,” said Sean Pregibon, owner of the Youngstown Sports Grille.
The bar is stocked with more than 85 barrels of beer — 30 of which contain Guinness — and more than 300 cases of beer, he said.
But Pregibon emphasized that much of today’s celebration is family-friendly, beginning with a 6 a.m. breakfast bar that includes Lucky Charms cereal for kids and a rotation of face-painters and clowns, in addition to Irish bands and bagpipers.
“We started this tradition and now it’s grown to this mega-party known for entertainment and food products, such as corned beef, reubens and Irish lamb stew,” Pregibon said.
Peggy Heaver and her husband, Randy Heaver, of New Middletown said they plan to get to the Sports Grille in the early afternoon for reuben sandwiches and to avoid the morning and evening rushes.
“We’re here now for date night,” Peggy said, as the two munched on fish dinners Friday at the Sports Grille.
As the Sports Grille continues its St. Patrick’s Day traditions, another Boardman restaurant is looking to start its own.
Quaker Steak & Lube opened less than a year ago in The Shops at Boardman Park and has more than 50 kegs of green beer ready for its first St. Paddy’s Day, said general manager Shawn Dunham.
“The reputation of the original location [in Sharon, Pa.] will help us,” Dunham said, noting there’s a full slate of bands for the day in Boardman.
The restaurant known for its wings will have a green eggs and “hamrocks” — ham shaped like shamrocks — in a breakfast buffet from 6 to 10 a.m. and its regular menu will be available about 11 a.m. today.
Dunham said he noticed an uptick in business during the Friday lunch crowd and hopes it will carry over today.
“We have to look at how we separate ourselves. ... We want to start a tradition here and have it grow every year,” he said.
And for an Austintown pub, St. Patrick’s Day is the biggest day of the year — evidenced by a ticker behind the bar that counts down to March 17 throughout the year.
More than 70,000 people are expected to stop in at O’Donold’s Irish Pub & Grill today, said general manager Craig Ballmer.
“We’ve been doing this for 10 years. I think St. Patrick’s Day is such a big deal in the Valley because there’s a big Irish community in this area, and it’s a good time for people to band together,” he said.