San Marcos Goes Green for St. Patrick's Day

When San Marcos residents get thirsty for some green beer, they bring the luck of the Irish for the local pubs and bars with a huge increase in alcohol sales.

St. Patrick’s Day was created to be a holiday that celebrates one of the most commonly recognized patron saints of Ireland, Saint Patrick. It started as a Catholic holiday and in the 1600s it transitioned into an official feast day. Now, St. Patrick’s Day is most commonly associated with shamrocks, leprechauns, and pots of gold. People from all over wear green, drink green alcohol and celebrate the Irish on March 17.

Texas State University’s Spring Break landed the week before St. Patrick’s Day, so it gave students a chance to get back to San Marcos and still be ready to party. Some local businesses were very slow during Texas State’s Spring Break due to the fact that many students went out of town and on vacation. The Irish holiday gave these businesses a chance to make up for some of their slower, less profitable days.

San Marcos bars, pubs, and liquor stores had a huge increase in alcohol sales on St. Patrick’s Day. Even though the holiday fell on a Wednesday this year, it didn’t stop many people from coming out, spending some money and celebrating with friends. Many people not only enjoyed dressing up crazy and wearing as much green as possible, but they also enjoyed drinking the green beer. Although “the green beer tastes like normal beer, it’s something fun and different to drink,” said Erin Vincent, bartender at Barfish.

Many places also had specials on the green-colored beer to entice people to come out and drink. “We didn’t really need to have drink specials because we knew that we would be busy no matter what, but we offered some of the green beer for $2.50,” said Blake York, server and bartender at Sean Patrick’s Irish Pub and Grill. Sean Patrick’s was busy from the minute that the front doors opened that day. “It was chaos, elbow-to-elbow, people everywhere, but we still had a lot of fun. There was live music and everyone danced and celebrated,” said York. Sean Patrick’s was fully staffed and ready for action for the busy holiday. “We sold $24,000, which is as much as we would sell in a week, but in just one day. It was our highest sales record since we opened in 2006,” said York. Although it is not an Irish bar, “Barfish sold $11,000 in just seven hours of being opened,” said Vincent.

The liquor stores in San Marcos also profited from St. Patrick’s Day. Many people spent the extra money to buy some Irish alcohol such as Guinness and Bailey’s, but there were also those who just wanted to drink and not spend more than usual. As for the Irish whiskey, “We sold out of Jameson and even sold a lot of Bushmills, which is cheap and gross,” said Tripp Miller, cashier at MJ’s Liquor Store. Many people also seemed to be happier and excited to get out and celebrate. “The overall spirits were high, even my boss was in a really good mood,” said Miller.

Many local stores also benefitted from the hype of the holiday because so many people wanted to dress up and decorate. “We had an entire isle filled with St. Patrick’s Day costumes and decorations,” said Megan Purvis, cashier at Target. “It’s crazy to see how much money people will spend to celebrate one day of the year,” said Purvis.