Missouri survey: More than half of restaurants saw fewer customers during World Cup
Six out of ten restaurants surveyed by the Missouri Restaurants Association saw negative impact during the World Cup, but an overall majority said the tournament was a valuable opportunity.
Six out of ten restaurants surveyed by the Missouri Restaurants Association saw negative impact during the World Cup, but an overall majority said the tournament was a valuable opportunity.
In a survey from the Missouri Restaurant Association, over half of businesses reported lower customer turnout than expected during the World Cup.
Nearly six out of ten said the World Cup had an overall negative impact on business and revenue. One of the restaurants that felt the pain is Blvd Tavern in the Crossroads.
Owner Derich Carlson said summer is always a slower season but had less business than in years prior during the World Cup season.
"We were kind of led to believe that it was going to be like the entire six weeks. And it was more so like the day before and like the day after, and not on match day," Carlson said.
He said they did get business from the out-of-town travelers during the Cup. But the local crowd was scarcer.
"A lot of the Kansas City people did not want to come down here because of that and deal with traffic and all that kind of stuff," Carlson said.
Not all businesses reported a decrease, however. La Paella Mix in the City Market said their location worked in their favor.
"Besides our local audience, we got a lot of audience like people from all over the world," Danisa Pinto, a server at La Paella Mix, said.
Pinto said it helped that the restaurant had shared their love of Spain's World Cup team online during the tournament.
"We got a little bit more relevant, and people found out about us, then they just decided to come celebrate with us," Pinto said.
Even those who reported financial challenges said they enjoy valuable opportunities to serve guests from around the world. The Missouri Restaurant Association said in a statement that many businesses hope the city can use the results to improve the outlook for small businesses during future events.
"Do we all wish that it would have been a little bit busier? Yes. I definitely wouldn't say that I regret that it came to Kansas City," Carlson said.
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