New Bedford restaurants gear up for busy St. Patrick's Day and the Half Marathon

NEW BEDFORD — As St. Patrick's Day approaches on March 17, the restaurants in the downtown are preparing for one of its busiest weekends including the influx of crowds arriving for the New Bedford Half Marathon set for the same day.

Restaurants such as Cork Wine and Tapas and Rose Alley Ale House, say they are ready for a busy weekend. Jason P. Lanagan, owner of Lanagan & Co, which is a partner in those restaurants, said a New Bedford St. Patrick's Day weekend is really a celebration of the New Bedford Half Marathon — a world-class running event that is put on extraordinarily well by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick."

"People start coming in a day or two before the race and it culminates in the race and the festivities afterwards. So, we really do sort of brace ourselves for the half marathon, whether it falls on St. Patrick's Day or not," he said.

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But whether the race falls on St. Patrick's Day or not, New Bedford still celebrates the holiday in a big way. "We try to keep it simple; we don't have to reinvent the wheel. People are going to be out celebrating, whether we do something special or not," he said.

St. Patrick's Day and New Bedford Half Marathon attract restaurant crowds

"We definitely try to have traditional St. Patrick's Day beers and food, but at the end of the day, we just try to staff accordingly and be as hospitable as we can for the folks that are out celebrating."

According to Lanagan, St. Patrick's Day in downtown New Bedford is a well-established event and something that's a holiday that runs itself. New Bedford, particularly downtown, is all about the New Bedford Half Marathon and the runners and spectators who make plans to stay for the weekend.

This year, with St. Patrick's Day falling on the same day as the race, the downtown area may be its busiest yet.

"It's fun to be out and about when a sporting event like that is taking place in a town or in a city. It's really no different than the Boston Marathon, just on a smaller scale," Lanagan added.

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"I think it adds to the experience of St. Patrick's Day. It makes the day more memorable and more engaging for the people that are out just for St. Patrick's Day. And then for the folks that are here for the race, I think it's also sort of a twofer."

Preparing for a 'double whammy' weekend

As the city gears up for an action-packed weekend, the team at Freestone's City Grill is also ready to provide a memorable and delicious dining experience for those participating in the half marathon or looking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

With over 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Freestones General Manager Jason Besse is no stranger to this particular busy weekend.

"It gives everybody an excuse to get out and see what the half marathon is all about and support other runners," he said, adding that some runners have already made some reservations to come in after they've finished.

"It's definitely a double whammy for this weekend."

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To make the most of this busy weekend, Freestones City Grill is offering a special St. Patrick's Day menu in addition to their regular specials, but only on Sunday this year.

"Personally, I feel like it should just be on that day," Besse added. "If you run it all week, it's not as fresh. We want to make it fresh that day. And we're expecting a high volume, so it's a little bit easier for us to plan so we don't run out after one day."

Downtown restaurants prepare enticing food and drink specials

Nick Silvia, director of marketing and IT for Lafrance Hospitality, owner of restaurants such as Merrill's on the Waterfront, Galley Grille in Fall River and Bittersweet Farm in Westport, said all the restaurants are celebrating St Patrick’s Day this week.

"We are expecting an influx of people in the downtown area due to the marathon and want everyone to know that we have ample parking available," he said. "We have overflow parking available in the Fairfield Inn parking lot across the street."

Silvia said the restaurant and bar will be open until the last Guinness is poured, in case anyone wants to stop in after the marathon.

"All of our area restaurants have specials that we have begun to run that focus on the upcoming holiday. At Galley Grille and Bittersweet Farm we have corned beef and cabbage and Reubens on our menu already," he said. "We are also offering family takeout packages for six on the White’s of Westport website. Over at Ten Cousins Brick Oven, we are featuring a corned beef Reuben brickini."

New Bedford restaurants love St. Patrick's Day weekend

At Play Arcade on Union Street, co-owner Adam Katz said they are also celebrating St. Patrick's Day all week with Irish-themed trivia Wednesday and live music Sunday plus true blue collar Irish food and drink specials including a "Irish Spice Bag" with Fried potatoes, crispy 5-spice chicken, onions, jalapenos and scallions topped with green curry sauce.

"Every year we celebrate huge with this great city and it's one of our favorite weekends," Katz said.

For drinks specials, they are offering "Who's Your Paddy," which is tequila, Chambord, agave, topped with Guinness, whipped cream, and Lucky Charms marshmallows and well as a "March Madness Mango Margarita" with rocks glass, Tequila, Triple Sec, mango, lime topped with lemonade.

"We are gearing up for a huge weekend, we've brought in extra staff so customers won't have long waits for drinks too," Katz added. "The Sunday should be amazing, we have The Moonbellies playing live 12 to 3 p.m. in the main bar and 5,000 square foot to spread out and have fun with your friends.

At Pour Farm Tavern, co-owner Jen Cardoza also anticipates a large amount of people from the Half Marathon. "Due to our proximity to the finish line... and because nothing tastes as good as a cold beer after a race," she said. "St. Patrick's Day is a big day for us and for downtown and this year with it falling on the same Sunday as the half marathon we anticipate it being a busy day."

The Pour Farm is also celebrating all weekend, kicking off Friday night with DJ Cool Tom Love. Saturday they are hosting a Tap Takeover with Other Half Brewing starting at Noon, DJ Nothing Means Nothing spinning Vinyl from 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Kenny Richards Acoustic from 6:00pm - 8:00pm and Brian and The Cassettes from 8:30pm - 11:30pm.

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In other parts of New Bedford, outside the downtown area, other restaurants are preparing for a large St. Patrick's Day crowd. At places such as Joe's Original and Cisco, marketing director Julia Reidy said the restaurants are equipped with a full menu all weekend long, and celebratory music at the Cisco location.

New Bedford area restaurants also prepare for high volume patrons

Although they don't see a lot of traffic from the New Bedford Half Marathon, area restaurants still see large volumes of people eager to celebrate.

At Profile Tavern in Freetown, also co-owned by Lanagan, he said they expect a high volume of guests. "In my experience, people in every community go out for St. Patrick's Day," he said. "And I think it's it's one of those holidays if you will, that is culturally driven, that everybody celebrates and it really is about having fun and being with your friends and family.

Back in downtown New Bedford, Lanagan said the main focus is on providing great hospitality for everyone who walks through the door.

"We just want to be staffed accordingly and provide great hospitality to everyone," he said. It really is a holiday that runs itself. They're coming out, looking to celebrate and we're here to make sure they have a great time."

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter:@ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford restaurants gear up for busy St. Patrick's Day with half marathon