‘It was really nice, a lot of people:’ Savannah businesses reflect on St. Patrick’s Day weekend

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah city officials were expecting hundreds of thousands of people to come to town this weekend for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and as the weekend winds down and folks head home, we’re taking a look at how things went for people in the area.

As the business of St. Patrick’s Day weekend winds down, both the businesses and the visitors WTOC talked to have stories of a very enjoyable time over the past few days.

“It was really nice. A lot of people, but really good. Just wish the weather was better, but it was nice. It was really nice to see all the festivities.”

Saturday’s chillier weather and rain, however, didn’t stop the celebrations.

Employees at District Smokehouse, a restaurant and bar on River Street, say they had the busiest weekend they’ve had all year, so far drawing in people from all over the world.

“I saw people from Illinois, people from New York, people from Florida. I actually had a couple of guests here from France, too.”

Though there isn’t a final count of how many people came through the Hostess City this weekend- Mayor Van Johnson says that from a public safety standpoint- city officials saw relatively few incidents from the large crowds from all around world.

“We’ve had really no major incidents to speak of. People came and had a great time, mostly behaved themselves. Businesses did really well, our locals enjoyed themselves, and we celebrated St. Patrick. That’s really what it’s all about.” And now that there’s a wrap on this St. Patrick’s Day- the focus has already shifted to the next one,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said.

“We’ll rest a little bit today- there’s obviously still a lot of people here- but Monday we start planning for number 200. And it’s going to be epic. It’s going to be absolutely epic as we celebrate our 200th St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s going to be phenomenal.”

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