San Francisco bars open without restrictions for St. Patrick's Day

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It's St. Patrick's Day, and bars in San Francisco haven't seen this kind of celebration since they were forced to shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Harrington's, a classic Irish bar downtown, did not survive after 85 years in business.
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Still, its two neighboring bars, Schroeder's and Royal Exchange, will continue the long-standing tradition of closing down part of Front Street to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

There are lessons to be learned by this pandemic, for starters you never quite appreciate what you have until you lose it.
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"I've done this for over 20 years, I used to dread this day, my least favorite day of the year, and now this year I couldn't be more excited, I'm so excited," said Andy Mott, bartender at the Royal Exchange.

Watch the video at the top of this post to see more of the day's festivities.

VIDEO: SF St. Patrick's Day events back for 1st time since 2019