Community first: popular Edmonton pub closed on St. Patrick’s Day after positive COVID-19 test
Posted March 17, 2021 5:19 pm.
EDMONTON (CityNews) — St. Patrick’s Day is usually a time for celebration at O’Byrne’s Irish Pub.
The pub on Whyte Avenue normally opens early and pours pints until late at night.
“It’s a fantastic atmosphere here,” said co-owner Mary O’Byrne. “Always a line up. We were supposed to be open at 9 a.m. this morning.”
But for the second year in a row, COVID-19 changed everything.
After preparing for an entire month to host their St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the family’s plans were halted when one of the pub’s staff tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Immediately as a family we decided the most important thing was to shut down, get everyone tested and thankfully it was an isolated event,” said co-owner Laurence O’Byrne.
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A restaurant with a positive case isn’t mandated by Alberta Health to close down but because some servers are still isolating, they wanted to play it safe.
“All our staff tested negative so we could have stayed open but for the best interest of the community, staff and community we’re staying closed,” said Mary.
Added Laurence: “We want to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and immediately we knew the first thing to do was to close.”
O’Byrne’s has been around for 23 years and they’re not letting COVID-19 stop them from making up for this lost day. The pub will open again after the staff are done their time in isolation.
“There will be lots of St. Patrick’s Days to celebrate and we’re moving ours to March 26 and it will be even better because it’s a weekend.”
