World Cup means big business at Brewhouse Cafe and Fado in Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For some bar owners, the big time of the year from a business standpoint is St. Patrick's Day. For others, it might be the Super Bowl, or maybe March Madness.
But for one Atlanta pub, the main event comes only once every four years. Still, what a moment the World Cup is for the Brewhouse Cafe in Little Five Points -- designated an "official bar" by U.S. Soccer, one of two in Atlanta, along with Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant in Buckhead.
Fado has St. Pat's, of course. So the Brewhouse may have the most to gain from the soccer designation. And there it will be all soccer, all the time over the next month as 32 teams from around the world play in South Africa to determine the best squad on the planet.
Every game, starting Friday at 10 a.m. when South Africa meets Mexico, will be shown at the Brewhouse, on Moreland Avenue, including morning matches when most pubs are dark and quiet.
The Brewhouse, though, likely will be slammed, with about 200 people inside, and hundreds more outside under a tent and on a patio. Michael Gerard, who opened the restaurant and bar in 1997, has spent liberally in preparation.
Gerard said he's invested about $42,000 in new televisions and sound systems, and thousands more on the outdoor tent, fencing and security.
"We save up and budget for it," said Gerard, 50.
He expects to make it up and then some, anticipating gross revenues of $400,000 over the course of the event, about double what the cafe might take in during a normal month-long stretch in the dead of summer.
"It helps in June and July," he said. "July's usually a slow month. It's definitely worth the investment. "
Gerard hoped to offer an additional touch by providing viewing glasses so customers could watch certain games on 3-D televisions. But he discovered that to really make for a good viewing experience, he'd have to buy glasses that cost far more than he could afford, so he nixed the idea.
A spokesman for Fado said the Buckhead location also preparing for the crowds starting today. It, too, will feature all 64 matches live, and many replays, on two dozen HDTVs.
Saturday at the Brewhouse will be what Gerard and other soccer fans hope is one of the highlights of a busy World Cup, as the U.S. squad plays England in what he says could be a "defining moment" if the U.S. wins.
"We've been a soccer bar for the last 14 years," he said, " and it's been growing every year. This is a huge, huge game."
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