It’s official — St. Patrick’s Day boozers will not get to do their drinking at the venerable Irish pub Tom Bergin’s. Renovations are taking far longer than anyone expected, so for the first time in three quarters of a century, green vomit will not decorate the bathrooms at the Fairfax Ave bar on March 17.
As recently as December 27 the owners were confident they would be open by now, tweeting:
However this week they were forced to admit that they will indeed miss St. Patrick’s Day. Here is the statement from Tom Bergin’s:
To all of our customers past, present and future:
Since we began our restoration of Tom Bergin’s in August, we have had one goal in mind – to position the business to last another 75 years. Although we’d hoped the renovations would only take one or two months, we quickly discovered it was going to take more than just paint, soap, and water to get the old girl ready for the next 75. Well, it seems we’ve finally started to turn the corner. We’re interviewing for staff and, instead of ordering roofing and cement, we are ordering plates & glasses. It’s all beginning to come together.
This brings us to March 17th. Tom Bergin’s has enjoyed sharing its Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day with the city of Los Angeles for 75 years. We hoped to host the 76th St. Patrick’s Day, but after weeks of debate, had to make the difficult decision that it will be for the greater good to remain closed on that holiest of days. This was not an easy decision. Throwing together a one day event is fraught with many variables that could leave a bad first impression, and that is not what we want.
We want everyone’s first impression of the revitalized Tom Bergin’s to be an exceptional one and we want it without any further delay. So we ask for your understanding and hope that when the tavern doors finally swing open, you’ll feel it was a decision well made.
Thank you