HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — Super Bowl LV was not a normal Super Bowl. That’s not just because Tom Brady was playing for the Buccaneers instead of the New England Patriots.
“Nobody in Buffalo wants to root for Tom Brady, right? And it's really hard to root for the Chiefs after they just beat us,” said Carl Decovnick, the general manager of J.P. Fitzgerald's in Hamburg.
Restaurants, like J.P. Fitzgerald’s, that would normally be packed on Super Bowl Sunday, weren't.
"It's definitely not the same. it would be a lot more people in here,” said Decovnick. “Probably some people talking about how we could've won last week.”
Restaurants are restricted to 50% in-person capacity due to COVID-19 parameters.
“We viewed this as another hurdle that we had to get by,” added Decovnick about the pandemic's impact on the business.
Danny's South is just down the street Bills Stadium. The restaurant has seen a huge drop in business during the NFL season.
“80%,” said Mark Ebeling, the owner of Danny’s South.
Normally, Danny’s would have a Super Bowl party. But they were not a part of the lawsuit that allowed some restaurants to stay open past the state mandated 10 o'clock closing order.
“Obviously, we didn't do it because of the fact that we got to shut down by 10 o'clock and then your customers basically run out the door at halftime and they don't come back,” said Ebeling. “We'll just get through this.”
