HOLYOKE — To some bars downtown, the sudden and unprecedented cancellation of the St. Patrick’s Parade and Road Race over worries about the novel coronavirus came as an unfortunate surprise.
According to a 2011 study by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, the weekend’s events welcomed 400,000 into the city and generated $20.5 million in local economic activity.
Bars like Francie’s Tavern on Maple Street capitalize on the events, as they’ve spent hours and months planning a weekend full of parties and live music — not to mention the Road Race starts and ends right near the bar. Francie’s Tavern co-owners David Wielgosz and David Johnson said that although the cancellation will hit their business, they don’t rely on that revenue to stay afloat.
“Are we financially impacted? Absolutely. Does it hurt? Yes, it hurts. But am I going to blame somebody for it? No. Are we going to put our tails between our legs? No,” Wielgosz said. “We have a strong business here.”
The city made a decision Wednesday night to revoke all licenses, permits and other temporary permissions between March 11 and March 23; the city will reimburse any fees. Wielgosz had hoped people would still come out to party regardless of the cancellation, but with licenses revoked, business is “confined to whatever we can do in the bar, but it’s small,” Wielgosz said.
Still, the co-owners understand the decision the city made to protect public safety. As Johnson put it: “They’re damned if they did, and damned if they don’t. They had no choice.”
Johnson also said he is concerned how the lack of extra customers and revenue will affect his bartenders, who work mostly for tips.
At the Unicorn Inn around the corner on High Street, manager Bobby Rivera explained that the weekend’s events are 10-15% of his store’s revenue. Rivera also said his bar profited more off of the race than the parade and had already spent money on T-shirts for the event: “It was so disappointing.”
Rivera said that after the coronavirus pandemic dies down, the city should incentivize another event, such as a block party, so that businesses impacted by the cancellation can try to recoup their losses. He said the city should waive costs for permits.
Rivera said he agrees with the city’s decision to pull the events over COVID-19 fears and that his business is not in danger of closing because of the cancellation.
Colleges and universities are also canceling classes and events. John Grossman, owner of Holyoke Hummus on High Street, said that the college business is much better for his shop than the parade or the road race — and he anticipates the lack of students in the area “will have an effect.”
Grossman said he had a lot of springtime bookings with local colleges. On Friday, he said he had $10,000 worth of events wiped out due to cancellations.
Jordan Hart, program and services coordinator at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that the city as a whole will typically “count on this weekend as a huge economic boost for our businesses.”
“This will severely affect the restaurants and bars in that area,” Hart said of downtown.
Hart said that people should make an effort to support small businesses in the city that will be affected by the cancellation of the parade and race — and that they should follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
Jemma Stephenson contributed to this report.
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.