Sentinel & Enterprise

Home games help businesses rebound

Fans give boost to hangouts near Garden

- Dy Ue9han ottolini

Business operators around TD Garden and North Station say they’re expecting a major turnaround from the pain of the pandemic as fans return to the stands for Bruins and Celtics games after being shut out for a year.

“Business is very much going up,” said Faez AlHamdami, who runs New York Shawarma Guys, located just two blocks from the Garden.

TD Garden welcomed back about 2,300 fans Thursday night for a Bruins game against the New York Islanders, the venue’s first event with in-person attendance since March 2020. Right now, TD Garden is operating at 12% capacity.

Multiple bars around Causeway Street remained

closed on Thursday before the Bruins game. Some — like legendary watering hole The Fours — shuttered indefinite­ly last year, unable to rebound from the spring shutdown during the first coronaviru­s surge.

Others, like The Harp, simply couldn’t afford to operate at limited capacity and without events drawing foot traffic to the Garden.

The Harp, which sits directly across from the Garden on Causeway Street, reopened to the public for

the first time in over a year Thursday afternoon. Marketing team member Grace Manozzi told the Herald the whole staff missed the buzz of fans on Causeway Street on game days.

“Any capacity will bring back a little bit of that feeling as the days go on,” she said.

Game day spots Halftime Pizza and Sullivan’s Tap were both shuttered Thursday. Business owners said the last year has tested their restaurant­s like nothing else.

“It was sad. The Harp has been here for 30 years, across from the Garden. It was hard not to have it for a year,” Manozzi said.

Dongwook Seo has operated the Fresh Salad Bar a few blocks from TD Garden for 11 years, but he was forced to shut down the fast casual dining spot for three months last year. When he reopened, he saw his revenue drop more than 30%.

But reopening TD Garden to fans is cause for optimism. Business owners said they see it as a giant step back to normal and a big way to increase foot traffic. Because most people are still working from home, Manozzi said the Harp will operate on a schedule that’s dependent around home games at the Garden.

Al-Hamdami said things are already looking up for his business as fans came back for the very first game.

“Now we can tell things look really, really different. We’ve gone up like, 50% in sales,” he said.

 ?? STUART CAHILL / BOSTON HERALD ?? Grace Manozzi, marketing manager of The Harp, said the restaurant and bar across from TD Garden will now open up on days when there are home games for the Celtics or Bruins.
STUART CAHILL / BOSTON HERALD Grace Manozzi, marketing manager of The Harp, said the restaurant and bar across from TD Garden will now open up on days when there are home games for the Celtics or Bruins.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States