O’Donovan’s Irish Pub had already been limping along. Closed for 13 months during the height of COVID, the recovery has been slow due to pandemic restrictions and unrest in Minneapolis. They were open for just 25 days in January and February combined.
Now they face a new challenge: the MLB lockout.
For bars and restaurants that surround Target Field, especially on the southeast side neighboring downtown, the business the Twins bring to town is vital to their survival.
“We don’t have any offices around us. We don’t have any apartments around us,” O’Donovan’s owner Dermot Cowley said. “We are really, truly an entertainment district. We have Target Field, Target Center and First Avenue nightclub. We need all those venues going in order to survive and pay our bills.”
With talks between the MLB and its players union stalled, the first week of the MLB season has already been canceled. That hasn’t affected any Twins home games yet, with the new season opener now also the home opener on April 7. But the longer it takes for a deal to get done, the likelier it becomes that Twins home games will be canceled. And while Cowley says the business could survive a couple canceled series’, if it stretches into weeks or months of cancellations, that could close his business altogether.
“The core of downtown is still desecrated and this could be the final nail in the coffin for us,” Cowley said.
There’s still time before it reaches that point, Cowley said. It’s always been a struggle for the business to survive winter and St. Patrick’s Day is always when it begins to ramp up. But it only sustains because of the fans that Target Field draws.
Businesses on the north side of Target Field are also wary of the potential cancellations. J.D. Hoyt’s Supper Club owner Pat Montague says he’s “grateful” to be in the North Loop, which helps supplement business without Twins games. As a result, Montague has no fears of closing. But the cancellations would have a big impact on his employees. The restaurant builds its schedule around Twins games in the summer, increasing staff and adding hours depending on the day and opponent. Without the games, that wouldn’t happen.
“The longer they stay out of baseball, the harder it is for everyone,” Montague says. The business also caters meals for many of the visiting teams when they come to town, a revenue stream that won’t be there if games are canceled.