Ohio & Mahoning Valley - Some local restaurants are busy gearing up for St. Patrick's Day this weekend, but that wasn't the case five years ago.

On March 15, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered all bars and restaurants to close their doors to in-house patrons because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the pandemic forced restaurants to shut down, they were forced to adjust.

For some, it wasn't temporary. Ohio lost almost 3,000 restaurants between 2020 and 2021, including numerous restaurants in the Valley.

Others said they've found ways to bounce back.

The owner of Riser Tavern & Grill on Western Reserve Road said COVID-19 was tough, but today they're busy, and takeout remains popular.

"We're definitely back to the same kind of volume we were doing before COVID," Owner Doug Esenwein said, "2024 was kind of like, 'all right, I think we're through this. I think we can get back to living our normal lives,' and now it's kind of off to the races."

Esenwein said the bounce back can be attributed to committed employees and strong customer relationships as well as demand for close community that locals experienced during COVID-19 that kept customers in close corners, excited to return. 

Staffing still remains a challenge across the board, but new post-COVID tech helps, such as Artificial Intelligence performing scheduling tasks and AI answering machines that restaurants like Casa Di Canzonetta in downtown Youngstown are utilizing. 

Formerly Bistro 1907, the restaurant had to adapt beyond just pandemic restrictions and owner Mark Canzonetta said his establishment is now getting closer to returning back to pre-pandemic volumes.

After closing for 100 days during the pandemic, Canzonetta's revamp transpired: one that follows not only COVID-19, but road construction projects surrounding it and the deadly Realty Tower explosion next door.

"We've had some bad things happen to us downtown, and I think what it takes is, it was my faith in God and my family that pulled me through and making the right decisions," Canzonetta said, "Just staying strong in who you are and what you do, and knowing that nothing is going to beat you."

Statewide, the industry's been on a long road to recovery since. 

"Fewer people are out using restaurants the way they did before the pandemic. Certainly, prices are up, so restaurants are trying to figure out how to survive and make money in this new environment," Ohio Restaurant Association President John Barker said, "We've seen customer traffic down almost every month here for the past year, and this is across the industry in Ohio."

Despite that, Ohio now has 25,000 existing restaurants, which us up a couple thousand compared to the number of existing Ohio restaurants pre-COVID-19. 

For St. Patrick's Day, Riser Tavern & Grill is hosting a celebration Sunday after the parade, with a heated outdoor tent, live music, and Irish favorites like corned beef and Guinness. Casa Di Canzonetta is also featuring St. Patrick’s Day specials on the menu.