Saint Patty’s Day in San Diego – A Different Covid-19 Reality

As our beloved (or not) Governor continues to thrash about as it pertains to restricting restaurant openings for indoor dining, yet another significant restaurant holiday will likely pass them by. Saint Patrick’s Day, typically a banner day for restaurants and bars, appears that it will be greatly affected. A recent survey, conducted by Numerator, a data and research company in Chicago, shows the following sad, but interesting stats, and this writer believes San Diego, with its lifestyle orientation, will be even more affected.

• Nearly 2 in 5 (38%) of St. Patrick’s Day celebrators typically spend the holiday at bars – this year only 9% plan to do so.
• Almost half (49%) will be staying home for St. Patrick’s Day due to COVID-19; only 15% don’t think their plans will be impacted by COVID-19 (yeah, they’re the young ones).
• While more people say they will cook at home (44% in 2021 vs 34% in years past) or order take out (19% in 2021 vs 9%) this year, fewer people plan to decorate for St. Patrick’s Day (39% in 2021 vs 44%).
• More than a quarter (27%) plan to spend less for St. Patrick’s Day this year.

Also, even with more people staying home to celebrate, planned purchases of alcohol for at-home consumption are projected to be down (47% in 2021 vs 52% in years past), as well as purchases of food (67% in 2021 vs 73% in years past). Clearly, this points to the greater problem with restaurants and bars not being allowed to function properly; the fact that the isolation caused by Covid-19 and governmental actions (or lack thereof) have caused not just a loss of revenue for the restaurant and bar businesses, but social damage that has yet to be damaged. Stay tuned…