Baton Rouge restaurants have already taken a hit this weekend from the St. Patrick’s Day parade cancelation

The growing threat from the coronavirus pandemic and government ban on gatherings of more than 250 people didn’t stop predominantly young adult crowds from partying over the recent St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Though the annual Wearin’ of the Green parade, scheduled for Saturday, was indefinitely postponed, several bars in the Perkins Road Overpass area attracted large, raucous crowds of revelers from Friday afternoon through late Saturday.

Local restaurants, however, didn’t benefit from the boom. Indeed, the city’s eateries are already taking a huge hit from state and local mitigation measures, which are intended to stem the spread of the disease so it does not overwhelm local hospitals.

Restaurateur Brad Watts, who owns K Street Grill under the Perkins Road Overpass and Cecilia and the River Room downtown, estimates weekend business for area restaurants was down 30% to 60%.

Watts, a board member of the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s Baton Rouge chapter, checked in with a sample of local restaurants Saturday night, in addition to his own. He followed up with others Sunday.

“Everyone I talked to was down,” Watts says.

Read on for the full story, which originally appeared in Daily Report‘s Monday, March 16, edition.