Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the last few years, the Buffalo Bills have been getting plenty of attention in the national spotlight with a number of games played in prime-time.
Already this season, the Bills were featured on "Monday Night Football" in their season-opening loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. However, the team will have five more games this year in the prime-time window, and potentially more if the league decides to flex any game into prime-time.
Buffalo's next prime-time will take place this coming Sunday when the team hosts the New York Giants at Highmark Stadium on NBC's "Sunday Night Football". It's the first of three total prime-time games the Bills are scheduled to host this year.
Sunday night is also an evening many local bars and restaurants are eagerly anticipating, especially after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday in London.
"Every game for us this year is exciting, and it's been drawing pretty good crowds," said Josh Edholm, owner of the Grill at the Dome in Tonawanda. "We opened early Sunday morning, and were 100% full for that game. So we're hoping for the same for the Sunday night game."
Co-owner of The Byrd House in Orchard Park, Brendan Biggane admits it's kind of a different animal to have the number of prime-time games on the schedule this season, but says they're very excited about it.
"I was very surprised at the amount of people that came out at 9 o'clock in the morning on Sunday for the London game. I thought a lot of people would just kind of watch the game in their pajamas and maybe come out at halftime, but we had a packed house at 9 a.m.," said Biggane with WBEN. "We're looking forward to it, especially with the return of [former offensive coordinator] Brian Daboll. And my son just told me there's some sort of interactive thing with wristbands at the stadium as well. We're very much looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Paul Santora from Santora's Pizza Pub and Grill is very much looking ahead to Sunday night's first home prime-time game of the season. He feels the home games have not deviated at all, as far as business goes, from away prime-time games.
"As a matter of fact, for some reason, we found a little bit more of an increase for home games," said Santora in an interview with WBEN. "We're expecting our usual crowd, our usual rallying people to come to the restaurants, and really cheer on their Bills either way."
Santora feels there's just a bit of an upbeat crowd for home prime-time games at both of his locations, but the levels of support for the Bills are always the same, which makes for an enjoyable experience.
"I don't know if it's the type of games, I don't know if it's the teams we're playing, sometimes that's a variable in and of itself. Other than that, we've had a great crowd," Santora said.
With Biggane being just a couple of miles from Highmark Stadium in the Village of Orchard Park, he admits they don't get the influx that bars and restaurants close to the stadium get, no matter the circumstance. However, he says crowds remain strong for both home and away games, even in prime-time.
"It doesn't really differ for either one. We have 11 big screen TVs, and it's a lot of fun," Biggane said. "We do a lot of interactive things here at the restaurant, and we just look forward to having a big crowd for every game."
As for Edholm, he feels there's generally a little more business in Tonawanda for the away prime-time games versus home prime-time games.
"For the most part, we've stayed pretty steady over the years with it," Edholm said. "I think the prime-time people get a little more amped up to go out than versus a 1 o'clock game when when they are home."
But what about the different slate of prime-time games? Is there a particular night of the week where business is more active that others for prime-time football during a Bills season?
Santora says for him, it's Thursday night games that always the best for business.
"Because it's Friday, going to work and one more day [before the weekend]," he said. "I don't know how Sunday's going to play out versus a Monday, that's a really good question. I'm assuming your diehards are going to be there and you're going to get a little more. We were surprised for our last Monday night game that everybody stayed until the end. I mean, I guess it's only, 11:30 p.m., so it's not a terrible time. But really, it seems to be the same kind of crowd size, as far as an afternoon to a primetime for us."
Biggane agrees with Santora with Thursday's being a great night for Bills prime-time games in the past.
"The Thursday games are always well attended," he said. "It's been a while since we've had a Sunday night, or especially one at home, but I'm guessing we're gonna have a really nice crowd. The Monday lunch crowd might be a little off, but the Sunday night crowd will be great, I'm sure."
At the Grill at the Dome, Edholm says it's the Bills games on Sunday nights and Monday nights that seem to draw the most activity every year.
"Thursdays, we've been hit-and-miss," he said. "We haven't had too many of them that the Bills have played, but the Thursday night games tend to be a little hit-and-miss when it comes to crowds. That's a hard one to gauge."
In the past, it seemed like a luxury for the Bills to be playing in prime-time, given how bad or disappointing the team had been for so long. But now with the team as good as they are, it's become a lock to see the Bills participating in multiple games in the national spotlight.
But when it comes to these local businesses, do they feel any sort of "prime-time" fatigue when it comes to as many night games as the Bills have scheduled this year?
From Santora's standpoint as an employer, he feels lucky to have a staff on-hand where he can adequately be staffed for games, while also keeping the energy levels up week-in and week-out.
"Sunday night sees more business, because Mondays, a lot of people are out of work. I think it's just gearing up the proper way and making sure you're in good shape," Santora said. "And you know what's cool about our staff, they love to work football games, so it's really not difficult to get them going. The crowd and the enthusiasm at both locations has really been spectacular."
Biggane feels the prime-time games for the Bills always bring good energy, and says fans still feel the urge to get out for night games to cheer on their favorite team.
"It's a little easier when it's a nighttime game, because the staff is just more used to being up and about for the games, and having a good crowd. Pretty much pre-gaming before and then rolling into the game. Now if the game goes one way or the other, it might empty out at halftime, or get thinner at halftime, but usually if the game is a good game, people will stay to the very end."
As for Edholm, he can see where the "prime-time" may come into play, with it being a lot easier to take in games from the comfort of their own homes, especially when the weather starts to turn.
"We try to do creative things to get people through the door," Edholm said. "We try to project on a big screen outside on our patio when the weather permits. We also turn our golf simulators into viewing suites with a food package and everything. So we try to get creative, different ideas to get people through the door. People do like to come out and watch in a crowd, especially when they're winning."