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LA Pub Kicks Off St. Patrick's Day Festivities For The First Time In Two Years
Patrons of the Tam O'Shanter pub take a cheerful group selfie of their St. Patty's Day celebrations in the 100-year old establishment.
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Courtesy Tam O'Shanter
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Tam O'Shanter is a Scottish Pub and steakhouse that's been around for a 100 years on Los Feliz Blvd. But that doesn't stop it from throwing a big annual St. Patty's Day event.
"We are Scots by affection, but we are Irish once a year. And this is the day." says John Lindquist, a managing partner.
Lindquist says it's one of the biggest days of the year for Tam's. And they're ready to feed a lot of hungry revelers:
"We got about 1,000 pounds of corned beef and another 300 in the oven right now cooking. So 1,300 pounds of corned beef today and a whole ton of cabbage as well."
The festivities are back on after being put on hold for two years due to the pandemic. The St. Patty’s celebrations are also kicking off the pub’s 100-year anniversary.
“We've got a certain affinity for bulldozing old places and putting up new stuff here in LA but not the case here with the Tam O’Shanter,” Lindquist says. “We started in 1922 in Los Feliz Blvd. with a dirt road called Tropico and L.A. sort of grew up around us but we stayed pretty much the same.”
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Back in 2017, we had a story on the rich history of the century-old restaurant:
The Tam O’Shanter might be hearty Scottish pub fare on the inside, but it’s pure Hollywood on the outside; original owners Frank and Van de Kamp, who went on to co-own Lawry’s Restaurants, commissioned Street Angel and Ben Hur art director Harry Oliver for the restaurant’s architectural design. With some help from movie-studio carpenters, Oliver constructed the Tam in the distinctive Storybook style (also seen in his Beverly Hills “Witch House”), and the restaurant’s whimsical facade has persevered through nearly 95 years and several remodels. Frank credited the building’s endurance to its burnished-wood exterior, once explaining in conversation that “every piece of wood which was used in this structure was thrown into fire first with the result that we never had to paint it and it got more beautiful as the years went by." Indeed, Oliver’s original architecture may be the only thing allowed to age gracefully in Hollywood.
The anniversary will be commemorated with barbeques and party bashes throughout the year, including nightly events in July, their official anniversary month.
For the 60th anniversary, Tam O'Shanter published this ad with its history.
For now, patrons can enjoy the St. Patrick’s celebration with Guinness and green beer, accompanied with Celtic music from local bands such as the Ploughboys that will be playing all day into the late night.
However you celebrate, Lindquist says cheers to your health, or, as the Irish say: Slainte!
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