WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Saint Patrick’s Day at Craggy Bogland’s Pub in Willoughby is usually filled with beer, corned beef, and hundreds of bar hoppers. 

• Popular Irish pubs in Ohio are feeling the impact of the precautions taken to stop the spread of COVID-19
•  The owner of a pub in Willoughby was preparing for his busiest day of the year when the governor announced all bars and restaurants would have to close
• He said he’s concerned about whether his business can survive

“This place would with the jumping, tons of fun, tons of people sitting down, I have priests come usually early in the morning and say prayer, have bagpipes accompany him, and then just kind of kind of get rolling through the day,” said Dan Budreo, owner of Craggy Bogland's Pub.

But just as Budreo was preparing himself for his pub’s busiest day, Ohio governor Mike DeWine announced that all of the state's bars and restaurants were being ordered to close, but could continue to offer carry-out and delivery services.

His pub is one of the thousands across the state of Ohio taking a hit from the precautions put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“Two days before one of my busiest days of the year, I have a ton of money invested in product that's, you know, sitting on the shelves.” Budreo said. 

Budreo admits that when he heard the news, he didn’t know what to do. 

“I’ve been a chef for 20 years. It's the first existential crisis that I've ever faced in my professional career,” he said. 

But he did know that it was his responsibility to comply with the changes for himself, his employees, and their families. 

“I also had a son seven days ago, and so, there's that aspect of it and people don't think about the amount of people going, you know, coming in contact with one another, the reason for social distancing, the reason why these steps are being taken. One of my other employees has a baby, I believe she's 14 months. You know, another one of my employees has four children, then a lot of them, you know, will be seeing their parents,” Budreo said. 

Budreo says although customers can’t congregate at Craggy Bogland’s, hundreds of people have stopped in to pick up their orders. He says 20 percent of today’s sales will be divided among his staff.

"Without these people here, I couldn't do what I do, and it wouldn't be the amazing little neighborhood pub that it is,” he said. “My focus is making sure that, you know, my staff is, you know, squared away, and I can get as much money in their pockets as I can right now, help them file for the unemployment, find out what other options are there for them,” Budreo said. 

Budreo understands that pick-up orders and social distancing are the safest way to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. but he says his business won’t thrive under these circumstances. 

“Profit margins are thin in this business as it is. So, unfortunately, you know, basically, today's gonna be it,” he said. 

Budreo says he’s choosing to have a Saint Patrick’s Day spirit about things — he’s remaining hopeful. 

“Most people will be able to get through this, hopefully I will, that’s yet to be seen, but importantly, it’s not just people in this business ancillary businesses that that really get impacted by this. Just for all Americans to kind of just realize we're a community and realize that we're all in this together,” said Budreo.