The Knicks may be one away from winning the NBA finals, but one group of people is already winning: Staten Island restaurant and bar owners.
Since the basketball team has reached the finals, establishments have capitalized on the excitement by hosting watch parties and offering Knicks-themed specials to boost sales. Many Staten Islanders are flocking to restaurants and bars to watch.
“Everyone’s into it, watching every play, getting into it. Energy’s loud and exciting,” says Joyce’s Tavern owner, Joe O’Toole. “Because all the games are interesting. They’re either up and down by two points or four points, or they’re losing by like 30 points, and then they come back.”
Other restaurants are experiencing similar excitement.
The turnout is “phenomenal,” says Miller’s Ale House manager Amr Sallam. “Very enthusiastic. Very emotional. They’re on the cusp of winning the championship.”
“We’ve gotten so much more traffic since the finals,” says Zakaria Douhour, Outback Steakhouse assistant manager.
These restaurants are reporting an incredible boost in revenue since the Knicks made it to the finals.
“In here, when the game is playing, we get triple revenue,” Sallam says. “Whatever the day is. Not double. Triple.”
“At least double of a regular night,” O’Toole says. “On weekends, it’s even busier, because it’s the weekend, but on Monday nights and Wednesday nights, it’s been double over a regular night.”
The NBA Finals have been an economic boon for the city. The NYC Economic Development Corporation estimates that the full postseason will generate $456 million in economic activity, including both direct (tickets, merch, etc.) and indirect (restaurant watch parties) spending. This exceeds last year’s playoff run, which generated $195 million, but was estimated to generate $91 million more if they’d made it to the finals.
However, concerns remain that this revenue surge won’t last. Once the NBA hype dies down, restaurant owners worry they’ll see a drop in customers.
“The summer’s like a dry-out time for sports,” O’Toole says. “It’s not football season. It’s not an exciting baseball season. There’s no basketball left. A lot of people are out during the day, and by the time night rolls around, they’re back in the house.”
The FIFA World Cup is the next major global sporting event, but it does not attract the same level of attention as the NBA Finals in this establishment. Sallam says that, while the World Cup is available and shown across multiple TVs, the focus tends to stay on more local sports. He notes that things might shift when the USA plays later, but interest has been minimal for the matches held over the past two days.
Douhour says Outback (Steakhouse?) experienced a similar lull.
“I’ve only ever seen one customer come in ever to watch soccer,” Douhour says. “Maybe we’ll get heavier traffic when the US plays.”
Despite these fears, Staten Island restaurants and bars have at least one more game to go to see a major revenue surge.
Leave a Reply