Padres

Downtown San Diego Businesses Gear Up For Padres VS Phillies NLCS Crowds

Businesses are hustling as thousands of fans are expected downtown this week for the NLCS at Petco Park

NBC Universal, Inc.

The NLDS between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers had fans on the edge of their seats. Much like those fans, local restaurant and bar managers have been eager to plan for the thousands of people coming downtown to watch the Padres.

There’s a bell that hangs from the corner of Gaslamp BBQ. Elias Maroki, the general manager of the downtown restaurant, said staff ring the bell when the Padres make a homerun.

”Every time the Padres score, we have them, see the bell over there? We ring the bell,” Maroki said.

The Padres beat the Dodgers in the NLDS at Petco Park Saturday and since then, it’s been a mad dash to prepare for the first two games of the National League Championship Series, which has the Friars taking on the Phillies at home.

”I’m not supposed to work today but I was called yesterday and we’re running completely out of a lot of stuff,” Maroki said.

Maroki said the demand for food during an otherwise slower part of the year has made planning difficult. Getting enough food from their supplier has been challenging, but he’s making the best out of what he has and can get his hands on.

“Right now we are overstocking our supplies and hopefully we can keep up with the demands,” Maroki said.

For the next two days, it will be all hands on deck.

”We’re bringing everybody,” Maroki said. “We’re bringing everybody to the table right now.”

Down the street, Gaslamp Pizza is doing the same after seeing the potential from last weekend.

“Yeah but this crowd was a lot of people,” Ahmed Sidahmed of Gaslamp Pizza told NBC 7. “I was stuck in the traffic for like 40 minutes in three blocks after the game.”

Game time is coming once again. Extra pizza and beverages are ready for hungry fans.

“That’s what I’m waiting for,” Sidahmed said.

Coming out of the summer season, the boost in traffic is a welcome sight for San Diego businesses.

”You think of the visibility you get on a national stage that shows San Diego’s downtown and San Diego bay and then the increased tourism because people are coming to San Diego,” Jerry Sanders, CEO of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, said.

According to Sanders, the playoff games are setting the stage for next year and will bring more crowds and attendance for next season’s home games after a season that put 3 million fans in the stands at Petco Park.

In the meantime, businesses are happy to make the hustle.

”The joy would be perfect and completed if they take us all the way,” Maroki said.

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