Pittsburgh sports fans, bars already feeling fallout from outbreak
The world is in the middle of combating a powerful and deadly virus, but in certain parts of Pittsburgh, you couldn’t tell that was the case.
On Saturday, certain bars were overflowing with folks decked out in green from head to toe who were not willing to let a pandemic ruin their St. Patrick’s Day weekend fun. Tequila Cowboy and McFadden’s on the North Shore were overflowing with literal busloads of partiers, and South Side bars had lines out the door. You know, the usual.
Elsewhere, it was painfully obvious that concerns over the spread of COVID-19 — which caused both President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency and Mayor Bill Peduto to do the same in Pittsburgh — have had clear impacts on other local watering holes.
Not only are some bars much, much emptier than one would expect on this weekend in particular, but something else is conspicuously missing: sporting events on the television sets. With the NBA, NHL and MLS suspending their seasons; the MLB suspending spring training and pushing back Opening Day at least two weeks; and the NCAA canceling March Madness outright, the idea of grabbing a drink and watching a game is no longer a possibility.
“You could tell with the sports cancellations, especially March Madness, it’d usually be a busy time for us,” said Marc Williams, an assistant general manager at Jerome Bettis’ Grille 36 on the North Shore. “... We had a lot of watch parties canceled. There is a noticeable decrease in business.”
Though there was still a smattering of green in even the most dead spots, these bars are no longer just bracing for a COVID-19-induced slow down. It’s already here.
“It’s pretty much one of the three busiest days of the year,” said Kristy Badaracco, a manager at August Henry’s Burger Bar in Downtown. “And we have nobody.”
Besides the general fear of contracting COVID-19 — especially now that the first two positive cases have been discovered in Allegheny County — the lack of sports is putting a damper on what should be one of the most profitable weekends of the year.
Mr. Williams said that all the TVs at Grille 36 are on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” 24/ 7 now because there’s essentially nothing else to play. The lack of folks packed in to watch a Penguins game or Pirates spring training contest doesn’t help, Mr. Williams said, but that doesn’t hurt as much as the cancellation of conference basketball tournaments this weekend and the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments, which would have begun Tuesday.
“The first Thursday, Friday of March Madness are two huge days for us,” he said. “With that being canceled, it’ll hurt us, just like it’ll hurt everybody. Anybody in the North Shore, it gives people the opportunity to go out on a Thursday, Friday afternoon. It’s going to hurt.”
August Henry’s wasn’t the only Downtown bar that was disturbingly bare Saturday, and Ms. Badaracco attributes that to the lack of sports, conventions, shows and the cancellation of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. She said that business has been so slow that every server and bartender already has been forced to give up one shift because of a lack of customers.
“If it gets worse, more people are going to get cut,” she said. “Right now, we’re trying to do it fair so everyone gets a little bit of stuff. But if it stays like this, we’ll probably all be cut.”
As depressing as that sounds, at least the restaurant industry hasn’t been forced to shut down temporarily — yet — like most others have had to do as a precautionary measure. For example, Rivers Casino announced Friday night that it will be closing its doors for two weeks starting 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
On Saturday afternoon, Rivers Casino was packed with Pittsburghers looking to get their gambling fix in while they still can. Rivers Sportsbook, however, contained fewer than 10 folks watching and betting on some of the live sporting events still available, like UFC fights and boxing.
“It’s a little depressing because it’s entertainment,” said Chris McAbee, 30, of Baldwin. “Normally I just go to work, come home and, if I do go out, it’s doing this, coming here and watching sports and betting on sports. So, now my entertainment is gone. Now I have to substitute that with something else.”
Mr. McAbee says he will continue to gamble at places like Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, Pa., and other such establishments as long as they remain open.
That mindset was not shared by Johnny Coleman, 28, of Rankin, who will miss having sports to watch but feels it was a necessary move to suspend play before things got really bad.
“I don’t think it’s an overreaction,” he said. “I think it’s more so a cautious state of mind. Since it’s spreading quickly, you don’t want to take any chances . ... I feel like your health and your life is more effective than a dollar, period.”
Sports, bars and casinos are supposed to serve as escapes from life’s problems. That’s become near-impossible amid the pandemic.
Just ask Kristijan Babic, 30, a St. Patrick’s Day celebrator at Grille 36 who does freelance promotional brand ambassador work. He had jobs lined up through the end of the month, but with most mass gatherings cancelled, he now has no source of income.
Mr. Babic’s plan is to interview for temporary gigs outside his industry, but his future has never been more uncertain.
“It’s kind of different for us because we’re independent contractors,” he said. “We don’t get sick days or anything like that. So I don’t know what to do right now.”