Brown and Dickson Bookstore storefront
A controversial St. Paddy’s Day saw a divide within the community. Bar patios were at full capacity, many believing this to be irresponsible as it feels as though the end of pandemic is in sight, vaccinations slowly but surely ramping up. There was a significant police presence downtown, especially on Richmond throughout the afternoon, with no serious altercations between law enforcement and those celebrating.
“We’re definitely encouraged by what we’ve seen so far and we haven’t responded to anything significant at this point,” London police spokesperson Const. Sandasha Bough said Wednesday afternoon.
Despite no serious altercations, many photos surfaced early in the day showing lineups outside of bars with a lack of social distancing for an extended period of time. Jack’s on Richmond in particular saw people arriving hours prior to opening.
Brown & Dickson Bookstore, a local business just down the street from Jack’s, did not even open their doors as a result of the chaos downtown. Owners Jason Dickson and Vanessa Brown garnered significant attention on Twitter after stating they were closing, calling the festivities a “super spreader event.”
“We drove to work, and we saw the lineup, in front of a bar, and we were just like nope and we closed. We were like this is absolutely stupid. So we just didn’t open.” said Dickson.
Brown and Dickson have been supporters of COVID-19 restrictions throughout the pandemic, no doubt difficult in these unsure times, causing their frustration during St. Patrick’s Day.
“We’ve had people ask us a lot about our small business during COVID, and one of the things we’ve repeated often is that our customers are smart people. They’re people who read books, they’re people who engage in culture. They appreciate us staying closed, they appreciate us doing curbside and delivery so that they can stay safe. We have had very few problems with people coming into our store and not following what is just basic courtesy of COVID protocols.” stated Brown.
Brown goes on to say that she does in fact love the student community in London, her issues on St. Patrick’s day caused by the large crowds gathering during a pandemic.
“We love students. Our shop is really part of the culture surrounding academics and scholarships in London and we really do appreciate the student population that comes to town. I just want to mention we’re by no means bashing students.”
Dickson mirrors these thoughts.
“I just want to second that by saying a good chunk of our customers are students. We have a lot of students coming from Fanshawe and Western coming into our shop, and they’re great.”
Bars were crowded well into the afternoon and a significant group of people are fearing what will result from the celebration in terms of COVID cases.
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