Chicago Area Suburban Restaurants and Bars Get Ready for St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Despite Severe Weather Alerts

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) — There’s plenty of St. Patrick’s Day fun to be had, even for those who don’t make it into the city this weekend.

The celebrating is already underway at many bars and restaurants in the northwest suburbs.

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Finn McCool’s in Schaumburg has recreated an authentic Irish pub atmosphere by transporting the entire bar, chandeliers, and even street signs from a church in Dublin. This effort was made in preparation for a festive St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

This is the 20th anniversary of Finn’s Fest.

Mark Hoffman, partner at Finn McCool’s, expressed excitement for the upcoming celebrations, promising a lively atmosphere with an abundance of green beer, Guinness, and Jameson cocktails.

There is an art to pouring a Guinness. It’s a two stage process: let it settle, then top it off.

Drawing from their experience at Peggy Kinnane’s Irish bar in Arlington Heights, where every element is sourced directly from Ireland, Finn McCool’s is ready to welcome guests for a weekend filled with St. Patrick’s Day festivities leading up to the main event on Monday.

“This is our biggest weekend of the year by far,” said Tim Grodek, Peggy Kinnane’s owner. “It’s our Super Bowl 100%.”

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In Elmhurst, they had their giant St. Patrick’s parade last weekend, and with the actual holiday on Monday, they get two full weekends of celebrations.

It’s a great time of year for Brendan Fitzharris with Fitz’s Pub, whose family came there from Ireland.

“We got some good festivities and a lot of corned beef and cabbage and a lot of Guinness,” Fitzharris said.

They are cooking up the sandwiches in the kitchen, and serving the Guinness. And everyone is Irish this weekend, including Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin.

“Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” Levin said.

At Finn McCool’s, they are serving plenty of Irish specialties as well including traditional corned beef and cabbage, and even corned beef egg rolls.

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They’ve also got a tent set up to handle the overflow crowd, though with the high winds, many customers are likely to stay inside.

“Fortunately, Irish eyes are smiling down on us this weekend, and we’re gonna have one of the nicest St Patrick’s Day weekends in ten years.”