Pubs, restaurants reflect on a challenging year
Declining COVID-19 cases and rising vaccination rates bring hope as places reopen
In a normal year, St. Patrick’s Day brings good fortune and fun to Porters’ Pub in downtown Easton.
Hundreds of servings of bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie and other Irish specialties are whisked from the kitchen as countless thirsty customers down pints of Guinness, Harp and other libations of the Emerald Isle.
But 2020 was anything but normal, and the 700 Northampton St. tavern took a financial hit when it joined thousands of other Pennsylvania restaurants in temporarily shutting down its dine-in facilities a year ago, just a day before St. Patrick’s, in conjunction with Gov. Tom Wolf ’s statewide mandate aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.
Restaurants, including other local St. Patrick’s hot spots like Braveheart Highland Pub in Hellertown and McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub & Whiskey Bar in Bethlehem, were given just a day’s notice to pause their indoor dining operations.
“The shutdown was March 16, which wasn’t very nice because we had already bought all of our food,” Porters’ Pub co-owner Larry Porter said. “We were ready to roll as it’s one of the biggest days of the year. Now, all of a sudden, we’re told that we have to close. Why couldn’t they have just told us that a week earlier?”
Fast forward to March 2021 and the picture still isn’t completely rosy, but a faint light at the end of the tunnel appears to be growing.
For starters, Pennsylvania restaurants’ dining rooms have reopened, at 25% or 50% capacity depending on whether they chose to self-certify, and more easing of restrictions is on the horizon.
On Monday, citing declining COVID-19 cases and rising vaccination rates, Wolf announced that starting April 4, restaurants may resume bar service, alcohol sales will be allowed without the purchase of food and the 11 p.m. curfew on on-site alcohol consumption will be lifted. Additionally, self-certified restaurants will be permitted to boost indoor dining capacity to 75%, while restaurants that do not self-certify can go to 50%.
It’s all welcome news for Porters’, which was forced to lay off 75% of its staff last spring before bringing all employees back later in the year.
The 30-year-old pub, where indoor dining capacity was reduced to about 25 people amid the pandemic, has been relying heavily on a 30-by-30-foot heated tent as well as nine picnic tables along an adjacent sidewalk and a barricaded section of road to stay afloat.
The imminent resumption of bar service is the best part of Wolf ’s recent announcement, Porter said.
“That’s great news!” he cheered. “We’re a pub! That’s what people want to do.”
Porter is not alone in his eagerness to return to some sense of normalcy, which includes welcoming local performers from the O’Grady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance and serving holiday favorites to on-site patrons on St. Patrick’s Day.
At McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub and Whiskey Bar, offering a yearround taste of Ireland and the British Isles on Main Street in downtown Bethlehem, owner and Northern Ireland native Neville Gardner has been pining for the ability to once again serve patrons drinks across the bar.
For St. Patrick’s Day, the pub partnered with Bethlehem’s Seven Sirens Brewing Co. to brew two exclusive beers, Fergus’ Red Ale and a cream ale coined Cormac’s Revenge, in honor of Gardner’s two dogs.
In response to next month’s easing of COVID-19 restrictions at restaurants statewide, Gardner summed up his feelings in a one-word response: “Brilliant!”
“I think what’s happening in other states, where they’ve just gotten rid of all the restrictions, is pretty daft because I’d rather go a little longer and be able to be open than to have another wave [of coronavirus cases],” Gardner added. “I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated as much as I am anxious for better weather and more vaccinations.”
McCarthy’s has been operating at 50% capacity — a maximum of about 40 customers on its main floor — for several months, forcing it to adapt to changing coronavirus restrictions in a multitude of creative ways.
Modifications included introducing various family-style, to-go boxes; increasing its outdoor dining space to include tents and heated plastic igloos; and opening a second-floor, 20-seat indoor dining concept, Lafayette Room, offering a rotating selection of continental dishes not found on McCarthy’s menu.
This St. Patrick’s Day, the pub is planning to host a roaming bagpiper and more entertainment.
“We’re doing the best we can, but we’re having a hard time finding staff,” noted Gardner, who also operates McCarthy’s neighboring Donegal Square, a 35-yearold Celtic gift shop. “With all of the benefits people can get by not working, we’re struggling a little bit to find enough people.”
A few miles south of McCarthy’s, Hellertown’s Braveheart Highland Pub, another popular destination for St. Patrick’s celebrations, has also weathered a turbulent year.
The 14-year-old restaurant, known for its Scottish fare, has been operating at 25% capacity for several months as increasing capacity to 50% was unfeasible due to social distancing guidelines that necessitate tables be 6 feet apart, owner Andy Lee said.
The 430 Main St. pub has faced other challenges, including February’s blockbuster snowstorm, which forced Lee to close for two days and pay a removal company to haul away snow in dump trucks.
“Overall, we’re doing all right,” Lee said. “We’re not nearly where we were more than a year ago, but the numbers of cases and hospitalizations coming down are really helping. We’re just continuing to push forward, and I’m cautiously optimistic.”
Lee rolled with the punches last year, turning the temporary indoor dining shutdown into an opportunity to upgrade facilities.
Workers steam-cleaned tiles, refurbished hardwood floors and furniture, and constructed a covered deck, with seating for 20-24 diners with social distancing guidelines in place, adjacent to the north side of the restaurant.
“One of the few silver linings in this pandemic is it’s allowed us to take the time to do improvements,” Lee said last spring. “Being a restaurant that’s open seven days a week, it’s nearly impossible to get this kind of work done.”
Lee was forced to close his other pub, the 5-year-old Taps Tavern in Lower Saucon Township, in May as the economic toll of the initial shutdown was too much.
He’s looking forward to a return of some normalcy at Braveheart this St. Patrick’s Day, complete with holiday food specials such as corned beef and cabbage and crisp haggis and neeps and an outdoor tent featuring live Irish music.
With tent, patio and indoor dining, the restaurant will be able to accommodate about 150 people at any given time, Lee said. Diners should call for reservations.
“This past year’s been frustrating at times because it was stopand-go, stop-and-go for a while, and we were forced to close before big nights to make sure people weren’t congregating,” Lee recalled. “But what hurt us the most is the elimination of bar service. Nobody sitting at the bar is tough. Hopefully, with getting some of that back next month, we will get some of our bar crowd back.”
Don Ringer, owner of Ringers Roost on Liberty Street in Allentown’s West End, also sees signs of hope.
His pub, a regular participant in the annual Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade Pub Crawl (canceled this year due to the pandemic), has seen business steadily pick up in recent weeks and is gearing up for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration with food specials and live music.
“I believe it’s coming around,” Ringer said of the local restaurant industry. “I really do. I’ve had four progressive weeks in a row. Last week was outstanding. If we would’ve had a normal pub crawl, we would’ve had an unbelievable week.”
Ringers plans to host a brunch Sunday in conjunction with the 2021 virtual Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade. The event, airing at noon on Service Electric Cable TV, will be shown on the pub’s televisions.
“If you would’ve told me last year at this time that I’d have people sitting in my parking lot — not just at one table, but at like 20 tables eating food, I would’ve said you’re crazy,” Ringer said of his expanded outdoor dining area, which he plans to add coverings to in the coming months. “But that’s what happened. We evolved and did different things. That’s what we had to do to sustain ourselves.”