East Lansing prepares for busy St. Patrick’s Day Weekend

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - St. Patrick’s Day is Friday and that means a lot of Michigan State University students will be headed to bars in East Lansing.

Some businesses have been preparing all week as students won’t just be celebrating the Luck of the Irish, they’ll also be cheering on Spartans basketball in the NCAA tournament.

Read: Spartans excited for NCAA Tournament

Some bars and restaurants in East Lansing said they’re bringing in extra staff and inventory.

Michael Kruger, the owner of Crunchy’s and Peanut Barrel, said he is ready for the wave of green that is headed their way.

“You know we’ll fill up right away because we’ve sold out of our presale tickets,” Kruger said.

Bars and restaurants in East Lansing are anticipating heavy crowds starting as early as 8 a.m. Friday and throughout the weekend. Crunchy’s Bar and Grill will be open at 8 a.m., serving breakfast to students and patrons.

“We’ll try to get some food in the students’ bellies or whoever comes in here before they head out for the day,” Kruger said. “Obviously with Michigan State playing close to 12 or 12:15 p.m., the lunches at both places will be pretty packed.”

Bars and restaurants aren’t the only ones preparing. East Lansing police Sgt. Nicole Mitchell said they’re prepared for the big day.

We have extra staffing for the day shift and night shift coming in early,” Mitchell said. “We will have bike officers out downtown. We’ll have officers down footbeat and then just more people partnered in cars as well.”

Mitchell said she wants people to enjoy their holiday safely and responsibly.

Related:

Subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every morning.

Copyright 2023 WILX. All rights reserved.