Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As we near the long Total Solar Eclipse weekend, our Western New York restaurants are prepping for the estimated hundreds of thousands of people coming in from out-of-town.
The Liberty Hound at Canalside in Buffalo is opening their doors early just for this Sunday and Monday.
"We expect quite the influx of locals and people visiting our area for the first time. We know that Canalside and the waterfront is supposed to be the epicenter of where everybody's going to come to enjoy this eclipse," says Jason Davidson, Liberty Hound managing partner.
"We don't typically open until May, but we're opening this weekend to accommodate the many people that are coming down."
Davidson says the doors will open Sunday at noon and be open through Monday.
Jay Manno of Frankie Primo's +39 and Soho Buffalo says he will be doing optional ticketed events at his establishments.
"We're charging $20 a head, and people get free pass apps from 12 until 5 o'clock. They get 2-for-1 drinks, and they also get their eclipse classes.
Manno says he is getting as much staff ready to work as he possibly can, and gauging by the day based on how busy his restaurants will be.
"We're going to staff so that we can handle any amount of crowds that come and try not to bite off more than we can chew. If we're wrong, we'll move backwards."
Bill Casale, CEO of Pearl Street Properties including Pearl Street Brewery, Lafayette Brewing Company and Buffalo RiverWorks says there will be a few free events that will be going on Eclipse Day, such as roller skating at RiverWorks.
"We're planning a Roller Disco Party on Monday itself, where there's roller skating inside with a DJ. So with open to the public, we decided not to do cover charges. We're just going to take people that come in, if they want to eat, they can eat, if they want to drink, they can drink. It is a free ice skating and roller skating event here at Riverworks. At Pearl Street, we're doing a little party on the patio with a beer release that day, and we're just hoping for the largest amount of people possible."
Casale also notes some outdoor events may be happening, such as ferris wheel rides, but that will be determined by the weather.
All owners are confident that Total Solar Eclipse will be a nice catalyst to get some new tourists coming to the Western New York area and are hopeful will come back again and explore everything our area has to offer.
We're trying to help Buffalo become that regional destination where they can go to, some other places rather than just Niagara Falls or Canalside. There's a lot of other things to do, so we're all trying to put our best foot forward and trying to create a an impression that will last forever, and people will come back," added Casale.