Decked out in green, the Face of Fox Toledo Ashley Johncola and I hit the bars for a pre- St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl. The quest, to see what Toledo had to offer for the Irish holiday.

Joined by former “Face” Julia Johnston and fellow Toledoans we drank in the festivities, enjoying live music, dancing, food and fun at local bars.

On March 17, Toledo will embrace Irish traditions and paint the town green because on St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish. Below is a list of St. Paddy’s parties and drink specials to point Toledoans to locations where they may enjoy their inner Irish.

Erin go Bragh!

The Blarney Irish Pub

601 Monroe Street

(419) 418-2339

Open: 8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Drinks:

Limited beer selection and full liquor,

Guinness, Killian’s, Irish Great Lakes, Harp, Smithwick

Bands:

Johnny Rocker and Hitmen featuring Kyle White: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

$5 suggested donation Sylvania firefighters

Pre-St. Patrick’s Day festivities with Pizza Papalis:

“IRISH Kickoff to St. Paddy’s Day”

March 12 from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Bands: Toast and Jam: 4p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Bloody Tinth: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

March 13 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Bands: The Bloody Tinth 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

$5 suggested donation with proceeds donated to Untied Way and Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo

* Covers benefit local charities

Claddagh Irish Pub

5001 Monroe Street

(419) 472-1414

Open: 6 a.m. to 2:30 am

Food:

Kegs and Eggs starting at 6 a.m.

Drink Specials

$5 pitchers of green beer

$2.50 Irish lemon drop shots

$3 draft after 10 p.m.

$1 Bud lights from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Bands:

Extra Stout: noon to 3 p.m.

The Bridges : 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Rays: 9 p.m. to midnight

$5 cover starts at 3 p.m.

*$20 VIP passes- no cover, no waiting in lines, entrance to a special VIP lounge and free buffet at 5 p.m.

Delaney’s Lounge

309 West Alexis Road

(419) 476-2883

Open: 10 am to 2:30 a.m.

Food:

Corn beef sandwiches

Drink Specials:

Jello shots

Green beer

Killian’s

DJ Mark Sheppard with Glass City Sounds starts at 3 p.m.

Free leis and beads while supplies last

*Leprechaun making appearances throughout the day

Four Horsemen Bar & Grill

4452 Lewis Avenue

(419) 476-3900

Open: 10 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Food:

$ 8.50 Jiggs Dinner

Dine in or carry out available

Drinks:

$1 Green Demon shot

*Best Jiggs Dinner

Mickey Finn’s Pub

602 Lagrange Street

(419) 246-3466

Open: 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Food:

$10 Jiggs Dinner

Drinks:

$5 Guinness

$5 pitchers

Bands:

Paddy Murphy:  4 p.m.

Bobby May and the Dry Bones Revival: 7 p.m.

Boogie Matrix Mechanism: 10:30 p.m.

$5 cover

*Best live music

M.T. Loonies

6648 Lewis Avenue

(734) 847-7222

Open: 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Food:

$10 Jiggs Dinner

$7 Cornbeef sandwiches

To go orders welcome until 7 p.m.

Kitchen closes at 2 a.m.

Drinks:

$4 Irish margaritas, Harp, Smithwick, Irish shots

$6 20 oz. Guinness

$3.50 Killian’s

$6.50 Irish Car Bomb

In house D.J. all day

* Variety of drink specials

Mulvaney’s Bunker Irish Pub

4945 Dorr Street

(419) 534-9830

Open:  9 am to 2 a.m

Food:

$6.95 all you can eat breakfast at 9 a.m.

$8.50 Jiggs Dinner

Drink Specials:

Green beer on tap

$2 shots

Bands:

Kyle White: noon to 4 p.m.

City Limit Sundown: 5p.m. to 9p.m.

DJ Smoke: 10p.m. to 2 a.m.

$5 cover charge starting at noon

*heated tents over patio

Village Inn

4984 N. Holland Sylvania Road

(419) 882-0338

Open: 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Food:

Jiggs Dinner: $7.99

Drink specials:

$2.50 Killian’s

$3.50 Guinness

Featured shots:

Mini Guinie

Irish Car Bombs

Bands:

Mt. Fuji and the Eruption: 6:30 p.m.

* No cover charge with live band

Shawn’s Irish Tavern

4400 Heatherdowns Blvd.

(419) 381-1281

and

105 S. 3rd St.

(419) 441-1081

Open: 11 a.m. to

Food:

$8 Jiggs Dinner

Drinks:

$2.50 green beers

Bands:

Johnny Rodriquez: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Toledo)

8p.m. to midnight (Waterville)

$2 cover at 3 p.m.

*Free beer koozie and beads with cover

BG St. Patrick’s Day Bars

By Andrew Farr

As March 17 approaches, there is usually only one thing on the minds of college students. But to some bar owners in Bowling Green, St. Patrick’s Day is more than just another day of drinking.

While many may think the holiday has progressed into even more of a drinking day, bar owner Jeff Hobbie said St. Patrick’s Day in Bowling Green has pretty much stayed the same over the years.

“St. Patrick’s Day is a drinking holiday and always has been,” Hobbie said. “You just have to know how to control it.”

This year, two of the more popular bars in town have been Hobbie’s City Tap and The Attic, each of which will open their doors to their first St. Patrick’s Day next week. City Tap, located on N. Main Street in downtown Bowling Green opened last September while The Attic, located right above City Tap, opened a few months earlier during the summer. Together, the two bars have enjoyed much success in their first year of business and have become hot spots of Bowling Green night life.

Hobbie, an alumnus of BGSU, has been on the BG bar scene for over 30 years and knows what to expect from the town on St. Patrick’s Day.

“It’s probably the second-busiest day of the year for the bars outside of Homecoming,” he said.

In addition to co-owning City Tap and The Attic, Hobbie is also the owner of Uptown/Downtown Sports Bar and Deli just down the street, a business he started back in 1979.

“It’s been great so far and hopefully the success we’ve had at Uptown/Downtown will to carry over to City Tap and The Attic,” Hobbie said.

One person that would definitely agree with Hobbie is co-owner Eric Pelham. Also a BGSU graduate, Pelham has worked as general manager of Uptown/Downtown since 2001. Partnering with Hobbie, the two went into business together, opening City Tap and The Attic.

Being a graduate of the University, Pelham understands how people and students in town celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

“It’s the one day of the year that everyone seems to be in a good mood and lots of people are out, especially in BG,” Pelham said.

Pelham also agreed that St. Patrick’s Day hasn’t really changed in recent years, but that people’s perceptions of the day seem to change with time.

“Growing up, you know you have to wear green or someone’s going to pinch you,” he said. “I think for most people, it’s not until you get to college that you realize how big of a party day it is.”

City Tap will open on St. Patrick’s Day at 9 a.m. and The Attic will open up a few hours later at 12 p.m. One of the things Hobbie and Pelham are excited about is opening up The Attic’s outside patio area for the first time this year. The patio, which overlooks the four corners of downtown Bowling Green at the intersection of E. Wooster and N. Main Street is one of the things the two were most excited about when opening the bar.

“The patio gives the bar more space and I think lots of people come to The Attic to hang out there, especially if it’s a nice day,” Pelham said.

On St. Patrick’s Day, City Tap and The Attic will be serving up specials on Bud Light drafts and other Irish drinks and shots. Uptown, which will open at 8 p.m., will be having a “power hour” upon opening and will feature $1 beers and shots. Downtown will open earlier at 10 a.m. and will have $2 green Bud Light drafts among other specials. All four bars will also be having free giveaways such as t-shirts, hats and beads throughout the day.

“People usually say we give out the best stuff for St. Patty’s Day,” Hobbie said.

But Pelham’s and Hobbie’s bars won’t be the only ones hosting a St. Patrick’s Day bash next week. Almost every other bar in town will feature drink specials and will be opening their doors earlier than most people would even think about drinking if it was any other day.

Nate and Wally’s Fishbowl will be hosting live bands all day along with $3.50 Guinness drafts, $4 green beer pitchers and free giveaways. Ziggy Zoomba’s Bar and Grill will be also have live music all day with green beer specials and $4 t-shirts. Like City Tap, Ziggy’s will also use St. Patrick’s Day to take the opportunity to open up their outside deck area.

“The deck can hold up to 80 people and if the weather is nice, the bar will definitely have it open next Wednesday,” owner Bob Everhart said.

St. Patrick’s Day may be a drinking day no matter what, but even to bar owners, it’s also just a day of having a good time. So even for bar owners like Jeff Hobbie who say the holiday may be the same now as it was 30, 40 or even 50 years ago in Bowling Green, maybe that’s a good thing. Pelham said despite the economy this year, St. Patrick’s Day is still a good day for people to come out and celebrate, and they will.

“One of the reasons why the holiday is such a fun time for students is because it’s a day for people to dress up and just get into the Irish spirit of St. Patrick’s Day,” he said.

“Lots of people really get into it, but then again, most people really just want a cup of green beer.”

City Tap & The Attic

-City Tap opens 9 a.m. (21+)

-The Attic opens 12 p.m. (18+)

-Free giveaways

-$2 Bud Light drafts

-$3 Irish apple shots

-$4 Irish Car Bombs

Uptown/Downtown Sports Bar and Deli

Uptown

-Opens 8 p.m. (18+)

-8 p.m. – 9 p.m. “Power Hour”

-$1 Beers, $1 Shots

Downtown

-Opens 10 a.m. (21+)

-Free giveaways – hats, t-shirts, beads

-$2 green Bud Light drafts

-$2.50 Little Green Men shots

-$2.50 Killians Irish Red bottles

Nate & Wally’s Fishbowl

-Opens 5:30 a.m. (21+)

-Live bands throughout the day

-Free giveaways – t-shirts, beads

-$3.50 Guinness

-$4 green beer pitchers

-$2.50 Irish shots

Ziggy Zoomba’s Bar and Grill

-Open 7 a.m. (21+)

-Green beer, Irish Car Bombs

-Live music

-$4 T-shirts

-$1.50 off corn beef sandwiches

with purchase of a t-shirt

Kamikaze’s

-Open 5:30 a.m. (21+)

-Kegs & Eggs

-Green Bud Light pitchers

Tags: St. Patrick's Day

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 8:56 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Featured, Star.
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