LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — From Thursday night's East-West Shrine Bowl to Sunday's NFL Pro Bowl, it's football week here in Las Vegas.
The fans are here and not only are they ready for some football, they're ready for some food. From adding more staff to buying extra meat, the restaurant owners we talked with tell me they're ready for hungry and thirsty football fans.
At Jessie Rae's BBQ on Valley View Boulevard and Russell Road, they're chopping extra meat and getting ready for a huge wave of customers.
"This is one of the hidden gems in Vegas," says Bill Tsagrinos, who came in early to beat the crowd before the Shrine Bowl kicked off Thursday.
"It's awesome for a small business like this to keep them going and support our local businesses," Tsagrinos said.
The staff at Jessie Rae's say they're getting ready for "craziness."
I visited general manager Jessica Orer in September, at the beginning of the Raiders' season. She tells me since then, they have a full house nearly every single day — some days even selling out.
To keep up with demand, they've brought on more staff and are making sure they have extra food. For this football-packed weekend, Orer says they expect double the customers.
"Normal days, we have 20- to 30-minute waits," Orer said. "When they say something at (Allegiant) Stadium is going on, you are looking at about an hour wait."
And just about 8 minutes away from Jessie Rae's, you'll find Tommy Rocker's bar and grill, just west of Interstate 15 on Dean Martin Drive and Flamingo Road. General manager Kyle Collins says this weekend, they expect to make 60% more in revenue.
"We have to double up on everything coming into events like this," Collins told me.
Thursday afternoon, we saw them flipping burgers and pouring drinks at an increasing pace as customer poured in ahead of the Shrine Bowl. Collins said he hired more staff and stocked up on plenty of beer and liquor for the weekend.
"With these next three events coming up — the Shrine, the Pro Bowl, and Super Bowl — and there will be no seats available in here," Collins said.
