BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – While 6,772 fans will enter Bills Stadium this Saturday to watch the first home playoff game since 1996, the bars and restaurant owners within a half-mile of the stadium will continue to watch their books operate in the red.
If there were no restrictions caused by the pandemic, this year would have arguably been the most successful for places like Danny's South. However, it continues to be their worst year yet.
"I've been out here 21 years and this is the biggest year the Bills have ever had," Mark Ebeling, co-owner at Danny's South, said. "As far as business, it's killing us right now."
Restaurants in of the state's "orange zone" cannot seat patrons inside. The orange zone limits restaurants to outdoor dining, takeout, or delivery only.
"It's very frustrating," Ebeling said of the missed opportunity with thousands of fans at the stadium. "We all go places. I don't want to mention stores but we all go shopping. We all go to hardware stores and department stores. They're jam-packed. When I opened my salad bar, they told me my customers have to wear a glove to pick up a pair of tongs to get something off the salad bar, but yet I can go to the grocery store and pick a donut off their open-donut shelf without gloves on. Nobody's watching them. We've got to watch people."
Ebeling is hopeful the state will loosen its restrictions on restaurants. Dozens of establishments recently sued the state, though Danny's South is not among the restaurants in the lawsuit. Ebeling said there is a fear that the state will retaliate by stripping their liquor license.
"The health department and SLA are coming in here, they've been in my store 12 times right now and I'm sure they're going to be here on Saturday," he said. "They've been here 12 times. Who else can say that? Nobody."
Outdoor dining is not ideal for restaurants in January, though Danny's South set up a tent outdoors, with TVs to watch the game, to try and accommodate some those who want to enjoy the Bills game. Ebeling said their setup has already sold out because it's reservation-based.
"We've got another tent that we're attaching to it which will give us 20 (feet) by 50 (feet) and that's filled right now, too," he said. "I'm sure it's going to fill right up if they go to another game."
But their real focus is on next year with the hope that fans can return to the stadium, and the bars, at full capacity.
