A Windsor restaurant owner is disappointed but not surprised.
Andre Mailloux owes Brews & Cues on Ojibway Parkway and says he had a feeling Windsor-Essex would remain in the red-control zone for St. Patrick's Day.
He says shifting to the orange-restrict zone would have allowed his pub and other establishments to welcome 50 people inside instead of 10 people.
Mailloux says this is the second year in a row, local bars and restaurants are missing out on St. Paddy's Day and there is no chance for them to make it up.
He says last year bars and restaurants were caught off guard with the shutdown but this year they're not.
"I really didn't think they would let, anybody go any further, like us from red to orange," he says. "I didn't think they would like anybody go any further until after St. Patrick's Day."
Mailloux says capacity for his pub is 270 people but under the red zone, only 10 people are allowed inside.
"I don't understand why they picked the number 10, where the rationale came for that," says Mailloux. "I don't even understand why they're sticking with that number whether than perhaps a percentage of your capacity."
He believes people will still come out on Wednesday but will limit their time.
"Give everybody a chance to come in and have some cheer on Wednesday," he adds. "I also expect that it's going to be a little bit sunny out that day, not going to be 75 degrees but we might get enough sunshine and warmth that some people are going to want to brave the patio so I do expect to see a lot of toques and coats and some bodies out on the patio as well."
As heard on AM800 news on Friday, Windsor-Essex is staying in the red-control zone for at least another week.
The red zone only allows restaurants to have up to 10 people inside and a maximum of four to a table.
Liquor can be served from 9am until 9pm but establishments have to be closed by 10pm.