St. Catharines pub gives students a reason to cheer

By DAVE SCHWARTZ
Staff Writer

It’s the best-kept secret in St. Catharines. For now.

The Celtic, a Scottish pub on Secord Drive in St. Catharines, is following the classic philosophy of quality at low prices to appeal to the city’s significant student population.

“We’re probably the best-priced bar in the city,” says Jared Wayland, The Celtic’s marketing manager and entertainment director. “We have $10 pitchers of beer every day.”

Since Wayland was hired in May 2011, he estimates The Celtic’s business has improved by about 60 per cent.

“It used to be, you’d come here on a weekend and there’d be a couple of old guys sitting at the bar,” Wayland says. “You come here on a Thursday night and it’s packed now.”

Wayland has been instrumental in creating weekly events, such as Thirsty Thursdays (The Celtic’s pub night), $2.50 Tuesdays (Jagerbombs and drafts for $2.50), and All You Can Eat Wings every Monday.

He’s also brought in live music. Among the bands were The Mahones, a Celtic punk band from Kingston famous for their song Paint The Town Red 2010 appearing during the climatic fight scene of 2010’s The Fighter, who stopped by in December.

The pub has also become a hot spot for big events, such as New Year’s and the Super Bowl. The big one, of course, is the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day bash, when they’ll start serving at 11 a.m.

The Celtic has been open since 1979 and has been a popular spot to watch Celtic Football Club games for decades. While Wayland has introduced weekly events, like Thirsty Thursdays and $2.50 Tuesdays, targeted at a younger crowd like Niagara College and Brock University students, the pub is making sure to not stray from its original roots.

“Come in here when there’s a Celtic soccer game on at 7 a.m.,” Wayland says. “The bar is packed. We’re not serving or anything, but guys will bring their coffee in and watch the game.”

While The Celtic’s main challenge is location – traditionally, the bar scene in St. Catharines is primarily downtown – Wayland says he sees the lack of other live entertainment in the north end as an advantage.

“If a Niagara or Brock student is cabbing downtown, for an extra three bucks you can get here,” he says, “and that’s three bucks you’re going to spend on cover or overpriced beer anyway.”

“We’re trying to do something different for the north end. Why not have a place where you can come on a Friday night and drink your ass off, or watch a band, or watch sports, or just have dinner?”

Wayland, who went to Brock and promoted local concerts for two years in high school, says he’s using his experiences as a template for what The Celtic should be.

“I’ve seen enough bars to know what I think you should have and what I think shouldn’t be in a bar,” he says.

With the success of the new pub nights and the continued morning soccer crowd, The Celtic’s next task is growing a steady lunch rush. But more than that, they’re looking to make a name in the community.

“At the end of the day,” Wayland says, “I want it to be a bar that people would want to go to.”

“My philosophy is, if you make people feel welcome, they’ll want to come back.”

With that attitude, it’s only a matter of time before the secret gets out.

Check out The Celtic on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thecelticniagara.