SCRANTON, Pa. — Call it the luck of the Irish.
Bars in Scranton, like Backyard Ale House, had a good crowd of people dressed in green and drinking green beer this St. Patrick's Day.
"We usually come out every St. Patrick's Day, but there was no parade this year, so we just came up to have a couple drinks," customer Keith Moore of Wilkes-Barre said.
"We do have a good amount of reservations coming in, the weather is finally breaking and people are feeling in a little bit better spirits, so we're just happy to see who comes down and celebrates with us," Backyard Ale House Bartender Jeff Keating said.
Even under the governor's 50% indoor capacity guidelines, the staff at bars and restaurants say sales were pretty steady this St. Patrick's Day.
At Kelly's Pub and Eatery, the dining room was much busier this year than it was last year.
"March 17th was our first day that we had to close and go all take out. So, for this year, for us to have customers in the dining room and have people coming in in their green and their shamrocks, it's a lot of fun and we're happy to be out," Kelly's co-owner Karen Synder said.
"We just like to be here to celebrate as much as we can," customer Rita Pencek of Moosic added.
Joyce's Cafe in Scranton also had loyal customers showing Irish pride.
Owner Tom Barrett said that loyalty is what keeps him going.
He hopes next St. Patrick's Day he can be at full capacity once again.
"I'm very humbled by everyone that came out to us last year. It was a rough year but it's great we're riding the wave, we're coming through," Barrett said.
Come April 4, bars and restaurants will hopefully be able to get a little more green in their pockets with indoor capacity limits bumping up to 75 percent.