When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day-themed specials, perhaps the most notorious is the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. The minty, green treat is advertised yearly on a large scale, bringing fans in to their local Mickey D’s to buy the beloved seasonal shake.
While Milwaukee has its share of McDonald’s franchises, the Shamrock Shake is not the only March special that will make waves this St. Patrick’s Day season. Around the city, several promotions offer great deals and good times.
The Irish Mint custard milkshake at Kopp’s, for example, provides some tough competition to McDonald’s when it comes to minty shakes. Scott Borkin, head manager of the Kopp’s in Glendale, said the Irish Mint shake is the Milwaukee custard and burger chain’s second bestselling milkshake, just behind the Eggnog shake sold during Christmastime.
When stacking up to the Shamrock Shake, Borkin said he thinks that Kopp’s minty treat is, simply, “A hundred times better.”
While Kopp’s will serve the Irish Mint shake throughout the month of March, the chain will also feature a Bailey’s Irish Cream Coffee custard exclusively on St. Partick’s Day. A vanilla custard with mocha flavoring, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Jameson Irish whiskey and yogurt-covered walnuts, the custard pays homage to Ireland and Milwaukee with its combination of dairy desserts and Irish drinks.
Besides these sweet treats, bars around Milwaukee are studded with St. Patrick’s Day specials.
For those 21 and up looking to get their fill of green-themed deals March 17, sports bar Kelly’s Bleachers will be offering $3 Tippy Cow green mint shots all day long, in addition to a full day of festivities.
Anthony Luchini, one of the owners of Kelly’s Bleachers, said the joint will kick off the holiday with free breakfast from 7-8 a.m. for participants and spectators of the St. Patrick’s Day parade. When it comes to visitors to the bar itself, there will be free t-shirts reading “I opened up Kelly’s Bleachers St. Paddy’s Day 2018” for the first 100 guests. DJs will play music from 10-2 a.m., and March Madness basketball games will be shown on three large projection screens.
In addition, Kelly’s Bleachers will offer a large range of Irish cuisine for the holiday, which Luchini was eager to describe.
“We do a whole Irish menu: corn beef and cabbage, reuben, reuben rolls, reuben wraps,” Luchini said. “We do tater tots “Irish style”… and we just try to do everything we can Irish, just for that day.”
On the other side of town, Mo’s Irish Pub will be similarly celebrating all day long. The bar will open at 6 a.m. with “Kegs and Eggs” breakfast until 11 a.m., and workers will give out free t-shirts to the joint’s first 100 guests. When it comes to Mo’s St. Patty’s Day menu, the bar will serve green beer, the classic burgers and fries and traditional Irish foods like corned beef, cabbage and shepherd’s pie.
While Mo’s, Kelly’s Bleachers and other places across the city will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with specials this weekend, other bars, including Campbell’s Irish Pub, see no need for special promotions to bring in customers on the traditional Irish holiday.
“If you’re at an Irish bar on St. Patrick’s Day, you don’t need to do specials … you’ve already got them,” Packy Campbell, the owner of Campbell’s Irish Pub, said.
In a fashion upheld for the nearly eighteen years the bar has been around, Campbell’s serves an Irish breakfast from 8 a.m.-12 P.M. every Saturday and Sunday. This St. Patrick’s Day, the only difference will be that breakfast will be moved to 7-10 a.m. All other “Irish details” are built into the nature of the bar itself.
Campbell, who is originally from Dublin, said, “(Campbell’s is) a little piece of Ireland back here in Milwaukee.”
With St. Patrick’s Day landing on a Saturday this year, festivities are expected to be especially popular. Restaurants and bars all across the Milwaukee area can expect large amounts of customers taking advantage of specials and promotions.
And especially with rising temperatures and thawing snow, Campbell said he foresees quite a St. Patty’s Day surge.
“The whole city is going to wake up,” Campbell predicted. “Because everyone I think is waiting to get out now. I think everyone has cabin fever.”
