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Get ready for the green beer to flow.
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, Paddy's Bar & Grill is reopening. The announcement comes nearly one year after the pandemic forced the state into its spring lockdown and the restaurant shut its doors.
Portland's oldest Irish pub welcomed back customers late this afternoon for both limited indoor dining and meals served on an expanded outdoor patio.
Known for its handsome mahogany bar that's so tall servers need a ladder to reach the top shelves, a different wooden feature has defined Paddy's for most of the past year: plywood protecting the doors and windows. All of that covering has been taken down, despite the challenges that may come with operating in a part of the city that's missing most of its typical office workers and tourists.
"It's an extremely difficult business climate downtown," owner Josh Johnston said in a press release, "and we really need the city leaders to address the safety and homeless problems to help encourage people to come back."
Related: Who Knows What Downtown Portland Is Really Like? The People Working the Cash Registers.
Despite those obstacles, Paddy's is moving forward with its St. Patrick's Day fundraiser, a tradition it didn't get to celebrate in 2020. This year, the event will have many of its typical attractions: dancers, pipers and drinkers downing Guinness and yellow beer dyed green.
The number of attendees will be capped through limited ticket sales. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Children's Cancer Association.
Paddy's website will release more details about the celebration, which begins at 11 am on Wednesday, March 17, on its website.