Irish pubs prepare for St. Patrick’s Day rush of customers

CAPE FEAR AREA, NC (WWAY) —Irish pub’s and restaurants across region are gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, and the rush of people donning green for one of their busiest days of the year.

“The Joyce” in Leland and the “Celtic Monkey” in Monkey Junction, both say they have been preparing for celebrations for months.

St. Patrick’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year for Irish Pubs. “The Joyce” and “The Celtic Monkey’ both began their preparations for Thursday’s celebrations months in advance. Supply chain issues made it challenging to get alcohol and supplies ahead of the festivities.

“Between like beer and food, and like –even cups and plates, and everything like that, it’s been hard to find things. We’ve kind of had to outsource a little bit. We’ve ordered from Amazon, we’ve ordered from a bunch of different places we don’t normally order from,” said Laura Richardson, “The Joyce” general manager.

“Honestly since we came in it’s been all hands on deck leading towards this day. The last week or so has been crazy, getting food orders in, getting drink orders in. The guys in the kitchen are doing insane hours,” said Darren O’ Connor.

“Celtic Monkey” co-owner Darren O’ Connor says St. Patrick’s Day will also be a milestone for the pub, marking exactly 3 months since the Celtic Monkey took over the Slainte Irish Pub in Monkey Junction.

O’ Connor sees the day as an opportunity to showcase what their pub has to offer.

“They’re coming from Leland, they’re coming from lots of different places Hampstead, they’re coming from various parts of the surrounding area. So, they can expect a good time here. You know what I mean, it’s our first real test as new bar owners in the area, so we want to put on a good show for people,” said O’ Connor.

Laura Richardson ,”The Joyce’s” general manager said they expect a larger crowd this year thanks to the easing of COVID restrictions.

“We’re really excited because this is the first year that we haven’t been super strict restrictions, at least for the last 2 years anyways. So, we’re excited we don’t really know what to expect, but we’ve been preparing, we’ve got a ton of beer, we’ve got green beer, we’ve got tons of food,” said Richardson.

The “Celtic Monkey” plans to open its doors 3 hours earlier than usual, opening at 9am tomorrow, and “The Joyce” has scheduled a weekend full of St. Patrick’s Day festivities.