CLEVELAND — Restaurants and bars in Cleveland were getting ready for Dyngus Day, a Polish holiday dedicated to celebrating the end of Lent and the start of warmer weather. 

What You Need To Know

  • Dyngus Day celebrates the end of Lent and Polish traditions

  • Jeffrey Hall from Happy Dog created a Dyngus dog for the day's special menu
  • Happy Dog almost closed down during the pandemic

Jeffrey Hall made a Dyngus dog, a special menu item only available for Dyngus Day.

"Throw a little oil in the pan and I drop the perogies in there, sauté get them golden brown," he said.

A staple dish in the Polish culture, pierogies are just one of the many of ways to celebrate the tradition.

"Hot dogs with toppings on it, you know we got all types of stuff burgers, you know? We got vegan stuff, vegan sausage, vegan dogs, we got it all here at the Happy Dog," he said.

Hall has been working at Happy Dog for about 25 years and said as busy and crowded as it gets, this time of year is his favorite.

"It goes crazy man. It runs over, people; it’s just too much sometimes but we handle it, you know," he said.

Meanwhile, Sean Watterson, one of the owners of Happy Dog, was making sure the front of the bar was all set up and ready for the music and performances, reflecting on the tough days during the pandemic that almost shut down his restaurant for good.

"As a live music venue, we were closed for 15 months. We did not know whether we were going to survive. It’s just fun, it’s a way to bring the community together and the whole reason we did the Happy Dog is to bring people together," he said.

"It’s just the people man, the people like having a good time and that’s what I love to do," he said.