Impact already felt from USBC championship
It’s only been going on for two days, but already the USBC championship is having an effect in downtown and surrounding businesses.
Bowlers like Doug Curtis and his son Doug Curtis Jr. are doing a lot more than just hitting the lanes during their time here in El Paso.
“Eating,” Curtis said. “This bunch we’re with, it’s about four of us together, and all they want to do is eat.”
For Curtis and his son, bowling is a fun, competitive sporting event. And coming 2100 miles from Maryland’s eastern shore to El Paso offers a chance to see new sights and try new things.
That’s good news for businesses in the area
“Yes, I can actually say that for happy hour,” said Michael Hedrick, manager at Pint & Peanut. “We’ve actually had increase of double our sales.”
Hedrick said that the tournament is already making an impact. The projection is $75 to $100 million over the months left.
“It’s still a little too soon, but that one day did, from one day,” Hedrick said. “We weren’t expecting that. I actually had to call in an emergency bartender.”
Other restaurants like El Luchador are working to staff up to handle the expected increased demand.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to do,” said bartender Jacqueline Ponce at El Luchador. “Hire a lot more bartenders and cooks. And hopefully, we’ll draw in a crowd with this.”
Ponce said the extra people is causing problems, in a good way.
“I only have like 12 margarita glasses,” Ponce said. “And I had 30 people asking for margaritas today.”
So as thousands more of these bowlers come through El Paso over the next few months, we’ll see if that economic impact projected turns out to be true.
