GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — With no fans allowed into Lambeau Field until Saturday for Divisional Playoffs, some restaurants finally saw an influx of people.
“It’s probably the best thing that’s happened so far this season the way the Packers have played. It’s good for the community and it’s good for the overall health of the city", said one Packers fan strolling through Titletown.
After a rough economic year for the restaurant business, many of them finally received that much needed foot traffic over the weekend.
“We’ve made the best of things, obviously our volume is down quite a bit without the eight home games across the street without having any fans", said Rob Czypinski, Manager at Titletown's Hinterland Brewery.
Kroll's West which is located right across from the stadium said Saturday felt as normal as it could be.
They went on to say that the Packers game brought so many extra people, generating more cash flow for their restaurant.
“Yesterday was finally somewhat of a normal game day. It felt so good to come to work and see cars parking on the streets again, it was finally the first game we felt like ‘oh my gosh they’re actually extra people here’ . Because the first games were so slow, it was kind of like a ghost town", said Julia Nolan, manager at Kroll’s West.
Those in Titletown felt the same too.
“It was great all day long we had a good steady flow, after the game people were obviously celebrating and they came in for some beer and some good food”, Czypinski said.
The game also brought fans from near and far.
“Somebody came from Kuwait just to kind of be here and enjoy the atmosphere”, said Sally Henne, manager, at Titletown's The Turn.
Those coming from out of town continuing to inject their extra dollars to the local economy.
For one Ohio family, they drove eight hours just to be in Green Bay over the weekend.
“We went out to different restaurants for every meal, we spent a lot of time and naturally spent a lot of money. It was pretty important for us to come here as a family and celebrate the Packers coming this far,” said the family visiting from Ohio.
In the meantime, as they wait for next week's NFC Championship, area businesses said they’re counting on the fans to come back next week.
“The same would be perfect. To have the same crowd, the same crew. So we can get money back into the economy, money back into the restaurant and help everyone level", Nolan said.
