CALGARY -- The decision on whether Calgary restaurants and bar owners would be open to customers on St. Patrick's Day during the ongoing COVID-19 fell on the shoulders of individual owners.

Joyce on 4th is among the restaurants that will remain open for parties Tuesday evening but the venue says it’s taking steps to exercise physical distancing.

Ahead of St. Patrick’s Day — typically one of the busiest days of the year for the service industry — several bars voluntarily announced they'd be closing their doors and not take any chances after city officials declared a local state of emergency Sunday over the spread of COVID-19.

The mandate in Calgary is all bars and restaurants must limit capacity to 250 people or half their occupancy, whichever is less, while Canada’s top health official Dr. Teresa Tam is now recommending public gatherings be limited to just a maximum of 50 people.

The provincial government is consulting with public health experts on whether bars and restaurants should remain open to the public. Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the discussions are ongoing and updates are expected.

These recommendations have now prompted the following Calgary locations to close their doors.

TEMPORARY CLOSURES

Ship & Anchor

The Ship and Anchor pub will be closing its doors temporarily amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The popular pub on 17th Avenue S.W. made the announcement on social media Monday.

"To this end we have decided to temporarily close the Ship. This is effective immediately, and will, at the very least, include us being closed tomorrow for St. Patrick’s Day."

Trolley 5 Brewpub

Following suit just down the road is Trolley 5 Brewpub, which also closed its doors at 5 p.m. Monday.

"The health and safety of our team, guests and community are of the utmost importance to us," read an online statement.

"We are looking into brewpub to doorstep delivery of food and local brews, and other ways that we can help support our community in this time of need."

Concorde Entertainment Group

Calgary’s Concorde Entertainment Group (CEG), which employs more than 1,000 staff, also made the difficult decision to close down its 18 local venues.

"To make that kind of decision and the magnitude of that decision for all of our team members, we don’t take it lightly, but again it felt like it was the right thing to do," said Jon Molyneux with CEG. "We thought it was our social responsibility to make the right call and close those venues."

CEG venues include:

Anju

Bourbon Room

Bridgette Bar

Double Zero

Goro+Gun

Local 522

Lulu Bar

Model Milk

National

Pigeonhole

The Palace Theatre

Palomino

Ricardo’s Hideaway

Sky 360

Wildhorse

The Keg Steakhouse and Bar

The Keg Steakhouse and Bar will close all of its dining rooms and bars across the country effective as of the close of business March 17, with the exception of Toronto locations which were ordered to close on March 16.

The organization said in an online statement it will do what it can to support its 10,000 employees

"We are sensitive to the implications of this decision to our staff and will continue to support them by providing resources to minimize their financial burden."

Cactus Club

All Cactus Club locations across Canada will be closed starting March 17 through March 23.

The restaurant chain said in an online statement it will still accept takeaway orders.

"Everything we are doing is with input from people throughout the organization. We are doing our best to balance whatever is right for our employees, our guests, and our communities."

Leopold’s Tavern

Leopold's Tavern announced Monday it was closing all locations across the country that afternoon

Garage Sports Bar

The Garage Sports Bar and Restaurant in Eau Claire Market was temporarily closed on Thursday after a staff member who had returned from Germany tested positive for COVID-19.

Dickens Pub

Dickens Pub, a popular music venue in Calgary, also announced on social media it is closing indefinitely to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

"I'm doing this for my amazing parents who are in their 70s and the many other wonderful seniors in our community who should have lots of years ahead of them," owner Chris Hewitt wrote.

"I'm doing this for the people out there with pre-existing conditions who will have some nervous times to come. I'm doing this for the health care workers in Alberta who are going to have a lot of hard work ahead of them and perhaps this will reduce the burden slightly. I’m doing this for our staff because I don’t want them to get sick and I want them to have jobs to come back to.

"I’m doing this for all of our beloved customers because I can’t, in good conscience, provide a space that’s a virtual ticking time bomb like any gathering space is at the moment."

Mikey’s on 12th

Mikey's on 12th, another popular music venue, said Monday they are also closing down temporarily during the pandemic.

Outcast Brewing

Outcast Brewing announced that, along with some chairs being removed from the taproom, the company has launched an online store and is waiving delivery fees.

Also on Monday, the federal government announced the border will be closed non-Canadian citizens, with exceptions for family members of Canadian citizens, diplomats, air crews, and U.S. citizens, to limit the spread of COVID-19.