'Whenever the Bucks do good, we do good': Downtown business spikes during playoff games

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --  When the Bucks win, downtown businesses win.

This is a typical weekend, but Thursday night, every seat in the house was full. There was a waiting list on Old World Third Street and the lines to get into bars went down the block.

Ringing cash registers -- that's a sweet sound to business owners who fought to stay afloat during the pandemic.

"Well it’s absolutely wonderful, especially after the year that we’ve been through here," said Wally Paget, Buck Bradley's owner.

Buck Bradley's shut down for five months. The return to normalcy was slow. Now, with the Bucks in the playoffs, downtown is buzzing again.

"Like an hour before the game started, we had to put somebody at the door just because the line just gets ridiculously long," said Lawrence Kaufman of Ian's Pizza. 

It's hard work for cooks at Ian's. They've been prepping over 100 pizzas every night of the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

"Oh my God, yeah, I mean it’s good for business for sure, like whenever the Bucks do good, we do good," said Kaufman.

Even street vendors are cashing in.

"It was crazy. I mean so crazy we literally sold out of everything we had," said Superman street vendor David Robertson.

One manager described it as a beautiful storm. As we wait to see if the Bucks advance, they're trying to make their staffing schedule accommodate large crowds.

"With every restaurant I’m sure you’ve heard from, staffing is an issue, right? But these guys I have working for me, and these girls I have working for me, really came up for the task," said Paget.

Fingers crossed for a Game 7 win as downtown businesses work to recover all that was lost in 2020.