St. Patrick’s Day brings crowds to bars

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - People around Cape Girardeau began celebrating St. Patrick’s day as early as possible.

Before Katy O’Ferrell’s even opened on Friday morning, there was a line down Broadway waiting for them to unlock the doors.

“We may be hammered, but we’ll be there,” Mike Kalin said. That’s his motto for the day. He plans to be at Katy O’Ferrell’s until someone drags him out.

“It is St. Patrick’s Day, this is an Irish pub,” Kalin said. “Kind of goes together.”

He’s not the only one who feels that way. Before noon, bartenders raced to fill drinks for those getting an early start on the festivities.

“This is our busiest day of the year, absolutely,” Assistant General Manager of Katy O’Ferrell’s Logan Ray said.

It takes more than luck for the bar to be prepared to serve the crowd of customers they’re expecting.

“A ton of liquor orders, a ton of food prepared, I think we had something like nine corned beef briskets that we had to get ready,” Ray said.

If you’re looking for a more sober celebration, there are other options in Cape Girardeau.

“I know it’s a huge drinking holiday and the parents get to have fun, but we wanted to bring the kids in,” Elaine Bosch said. She’s the manager of Baskin Robbins.

Baskin Robbins is offering a different kind of cold one

“If you come in and you find a little sticker on the bottom of your cup, your ice cream will be free,” Bosch said. “It’s a family environment here and we want everyone to be able to celebrate every holiday.”

Back at Katy O’s Mike Kalin said he plans to be planted at the bar celebrating his Irish heritage all day. The bar at the popular Irish pub stays open until around 1 a.m. for the holiday.

“We’re gonna drink here until I can’t anymore, a hiatus just for a little bit, and then we’ll come back and do it all over again,” Kalin said.

If you’re also one of those people planning to drink the day away, the Cape Girardeau Police Department wants you to do it responsibly.

Don’t drive drunk and have a plan to get home safely before you leave. Officers will be in full force this weekend to keep everyone safe.

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