DETROIT – The annual Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade typically brings 80,000 to 100,000 people to the city’s Corktown neighborhood.
The 66th annual parade and race route goes down Michigan Avenue, passing shops, restaurants, and bars along the way.
“The race and the parade are both great. They’re really good Detroit traditions and really good for the small businesses,” said Bob Roberts, co-owner of McShane’s Irish Pub and Whiskey Bar. “There are a couple of businesses on the block that really depend on these big weekends to help them push through the slow December, January, February.”
The pub expected such an influx of people that it opened at 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 11, which is three hours earlier than usual.
“Typically, on a day like today, we do a week’s worth of business in one day,” Roberts said.
All Things Marketplace is a block over from McShane’s. Owner Jennyfer Crawford-Williams told Local 4 she usually isn’t open on Sundays in the winter, but the St. Patrick’s Parade Day is different.
“Sales were record sales last year for the parade, so that’s why we definitely have to be open today,” Crawford-Williams said.
Some customers are local, others travel from afar, but one thing is for sure: they enjoy stopping in to get warm.
“A lot of the things they usually buy are hats, coats, gloves, cool sports apparel,” Crawford-Williams said.
The chilly weather is also why food trucks like Espresso 911 believe they do so well. Owner Kimberly Ingram said they sell anything from a signature chocolate raspberry latte to tea and hot chocolate to help people stay warm.
“This is our second year doing it, and last year we did really well here,” Ingram said. “Once the parade route comes in and the kids come in, and families start lining the streets, is when we really pick up. Then we have that period before the runners actually start.”