“We couldn’t ask for anything better to have St. Patrick’s Day here at the same time,” Sippel said.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — No matter where you looked in St. Paul on Saturday, everyone was wearing green. Thousands of people gathered on his Seventh Avenue, at least the day before, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
“There's a lot of people,” one man said.
“Every year it gets bigger and better,” added another.
There was a line at Grand 7 and the beer was flowing. It's a big day for businesses in the region.
“Every business in St. Paul, everybody knows March is their month, right?” said Dean Smallman of the bar. “This is our time to shine, not just at Grand 7 but at every bar.”
It wasn't difficult to find regular customers. Every bar and business that was open had lines out the door. Some bought hotel rooms to avoid the crowds.
One man said, “We explicitly reserved a hotel for this purpose. We had a great time.''
It's a big difference from last year, when winter felt like winter.
“I remember just hanging out in front of McGovern's, completely frozen,” Jack Cipel said.
“Great St. Patty celebration,” added another. “The weather is better than last year, yes, last year it was negative.”
With good weather comes good business. It's another win for the region after last week's state hockey tournament.
“It's a great city. It's been through so much and has done so much to improve it and I think it's moving in the right direction,” said one man, who gave his name only as John.
Yes, Saturday wasn't technically St. Patrick's Day. But anyone in the area will tell you – it wasn't an issue at all.
“We're big St. Patty's fans, right?” Smallman said.
“We couldn’t ask for anything better to have St. Patrick’s Day here at the same time,” Sippel said.
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