ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF)- J. Gilligan’s Bar and Grill in Arlington will be hosting the 42nd annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on March 17th.
Doors open at 11am and outside area activities, including live music will begin at 4pm.
J Gilligan’s Owner Randy Ford said there isn’t a set capacity for outside but they will have two Fire Marshals present to be able to monitor capacity and help with social distancing.
Last year, during the beginning of the pandemic, Ford made the decision to keep the celebration going at a lower scale operation, limiting the capacity to no more than 50 people inside at a time.
This year, they’re utilizing their parking lot and will have part of the street blocked off to allow at least 700 people to sit comfortably and social distance.
“The best thing about this year is that it will be outside. We have a significant amount of room outside with music and entertainment for our guests,” said Ford. “We will have the fire marshals there to monitor guidelines and make it as safe as possible,” he said.
Ford said there will also be extra sanitizing stations throughout the restaurant and patrons are encouraged to wear a mask.
“This is an opportunity for us to make some money, for people to enjoy themselves and get back to some sort of normal,” said Ford.
He said it’s hard to put a number of people the Irish Pub can expect but estimates around 5,000 people to stop by throughout the day.
“With the Governor saying we can get to 100% capacity, we are still not 100%, but this gives us the flexibility and the opportunity to host this event and since we have the outside area it makes people more comfortable I think,” said Ford.
Ford said the City of Arlington and the Arlington Fire Department have been a great help in making sure this year’s St. Patrick’s day event is done right and is safe.
.@jgilligans is getting ready for its 42nd annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. I spoke with Owner Randy Ford who said the event/live music will take place outside-two fire marshals will be there to monitor social distancing, capacity. Masks are encouraged @WBAP247NEWS @570KLIF pic.twitter.com/2t03cTtqvc
— Katrina Boonzaier (@katrinaboonz) March 16, 2021
