City warns: No parade of patrons on St. Pat’s

Southie venues told to keep tight lid on

City officials warned South Boston bars and restaurants that “we do not want to see lines” outside busy bars around St. Patrick’s Day as the pandemic draws on.

“We’re letting you know now we do not want to see lines in South Boston from March 11 to March 21,” Licensing Board Chair Kathleen Joyce told restaurant representatives. “We are coming down very strongly on enforcement, and we will be looking at this particular neighborhood closely just because it’s St Patrick’s Day.”

She said that they’re not looking to give violations out — “we’re looking to help you,” she said — but officials anticipate “a significant influx” of people in South Boston in the two weekends around St. Patrick’s Day.

The officials insisted Friday’s mandatory “EMERGENCY” virtual meeting for all Southie restaurants was an informational one — “absolutely not” for disciplinary reasons — in the same vein as what the city holds every year around this time. Police Capt. Joseph Boyle, the commander of the C-6 precinct in Southie, thanked the restaurateurs for their cooperation and said of the past year “has been very difficult — we all understand that.”

Boston Health Chief Marty Martinez said the city is “moving in the right direction” with coronavirus, as case numbers in the city and state continue to improve.

“We do also know that we’ve seen small clusters of cases through some of our restaurants and some of our facilities across the across the city, as well as in South Boston,” Martinez said.

Dan Prendergast, from the Inspectional Services Department, said, “We will have our inspectors out enforcing regulatory requirements and COVID safety protocol.”

Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration is further rolling back coronavirus restrictions starting Monday, including removing the occupancy caps for restaurants, though keeping in the requirement that all tables need to be six feet apart, as well as many other restrictions.

One of the first major events of the pandemic last year locally was the cancellation of the St. Patrick’s Day parade, which Mayor Martin Walsh ordered six days out as coronavirus cases doubled overnight — to 41 total. But then during the weekend right before Paddy’s Day, the local news was full of pictures of lines outside bars in Southie, which is normally home to the raucous parade.

After news stories that Saturday, a collection of Southie bars voluntarily closed on Sunday, March 15, fearing even larger crowds.

HERALD STAFF FILE PHOTOS A STUDY IN CONTRASTS: Hand sanitizer and T-shirts telling of the canceled parade tell the story of last St. Patrick’s Day — and this year, too. In 2019, below, the parade route in Southie was jammed with spectators.