Frost Heaves hand Barre an assist
City sees boost in business
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Sean & Nora's owner John Mayfield works at the host's table Tuesday at the Barre restaurant. Mayfield has seen Frost Heaves games bring him business, but how much depends on whether the games are held in the afternoon or evening. Stefan Hard/Times Argus |
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By David Delcore Times Argus Staff - Published: March 27, 2007
BARRE – Local restaurateurs, bar owners and merchants have more than one reason to root for the home team when the Vermont Frost Heaves take the court for tonight's semi-final game against the Wilmington Sea Dawgs.
If they win tonight, the Frost Heaves, who have been a boon to business in their inaugural season, will play one more game in Barre – this time for the ABA Championship. That game would be played Thursday night at the Barre Municipal Auditorium against the Texas Tycoons.
John Mayfield, owner of Sean & Nora's Restaurant, says he has his fingers crossed for the team that has kept its season-long pledge to be the "bump" in the road of their opponents.
For good reason.
"We definitely see a bump in business when the Frost Heaves are in town," says Mayfield, who frequently feeds the team and many of its most avid fans after every home game in Barre.
Win or lose, Mayfield plans to do the same tonight and – knock on hardwood – will have the chance to do the same on Thursday.
"We're looking forward to it," says Mayfield, who adds that his only regret about the prospect of the top-ranked Frost Heaves playing for the championship in Barre is that the game won't be played on a weekend afternoon.
"That's the ideal time for us," he says, explaining those afternoon games fuel a dinner surge that is difficult to match on a weekday evening. "We get a lot of real hardcore fans come in for lighter fare and a couple of drinks, but it's a little late for dinner."
Still, Mayfield isn't complaining.
"The Frost Heaves have been great for Barre," he says.
Mayor Thomas Lauzon couldn't agree more.
"Economically, I think the effects are pretty obvious," he says. "You have 1,600 people in town, many of whom are only here because of the Frost Heaves."
Ever the optimist, Lauzon, who plans to make a fast break from a City Council meeting that he scheduled an hour early so he wouldn't miss tonight's tip-off, has already punched the Frost Heaves' ticket to a title game against Texas.
"It's the ABA championship and we'll be hosting it here in Barre, Vermont," he says, predicting a title game should generate a surge in business for establishments like Sean & Nora's, Gusto's and Mulligan's Irish Pub.
That's not all it means, says Lauzon.
"It means you better not need me Thursday night," joked the mayor, who says the Frost Heaves have given the city an opportunity to showcase its civic center complex as a venue for other events, as well as the community in general.
"It lets people know there are a lot of good things happening in Barre," he says. "It casts our community in a positive light which is where we should be."
Although the Frost Heaves haven't generated a ton of new business at Gusto's, manager Graham Blow says the team has given the bar's sports-rabid clientele plenty to talk about.
"A lot of our regular customers are huge sports fans so they'll go to the game and then come here," says Blow. "They're all really excited about the way the season has gone."
Dave Nelson, owner of Mulligan's Irish Pub, notes his sports bar establishment is strategically located to take full advantage of popular events at the auditorium and Frost Heaves' home games definitely qualify. Fans frequently stop in before or after the Frost Heaves' home games in Barre, and sometimes both.
"We're just down the hill so we've seen a good increase in business on nights when they play," he says.
Nelson, who has fed the team three times this season – twice at Mulligan's and once at McGillicuddy's Irish Pub in Montpelier – is pulling for a win tonight and again on Thursday.
"It's been a good thing for us," he says. "I wholeheartedly support them."