Alex Pratt, store manager for Ned’s Bookstore, 135 E. Grand River Ave., said sales generally double or triple for home football games, with MSU apparel selling the best.

“We start to see an increase on Friday,” Pratt said. “We see the most business before the game starts. The big seller is the $9.99 T-shirts with the different MSU designs and colors.”

For noon home games, Ned’s opens at 9 a.m. instead of its usual Saturday opening time of 10 a.m., Pratt said.

Eric Skusa, general manager at The Peanut Barrel Restaurant, 521 E. Grand River Ave., said MSU alumni often return for home football games, generally increasing business by 30-35 percent.

“Everyone gets excited about home football games,” Skusa said. “There’s a lot of people from out of the area, and we always see a lot of the same people coming back.”

The Peanut Barrel opens its doors at 9 a.m. for home football games that begin at noon and at 11 a.m. on most Saturdays.

“It’s busy and happy,” Skusa said. “Early in the season, it’s especially that way, because people have waited all summer for this.”

The game’s start time has a significant effect on business, said Corey Clark, general manager of Jimmy John’s, 643 E. Grand River Ave., who prefers home games that start later in the afternoon.

“For later games we’ll do more business at night,” Clark said. “If it’s an afternoon game we’ll stay busy all day because people are too busy to cook their own food.”

For Bubble Island, 515 E. Grand River Ave., sales don’t typically increase until after the game ends, manager Jeff Yang said.

“Usually it’s dead during the game, but after the game there’s a small rush for tea,” Yang said. “It’s mostly students, but there’s also a lot of families from out of town.”

Some businesses, however, didn’t see an increase in business for Saturday’s game.

“For us, business was down — the focus was somewhere else besides buying winter jackets,” said Paul Pickell, manager of Moosejaw Mountaineering, 555 E. Grand River Ave. “Historically, the morning or the afternoon is slow, but later is busier because families want to stop by and check it out.”

Students said they also enjoy grabbing a bite to eat after home football games.

“After the game we went out to eat, and going out just seemed like a pretty normal thing to do,” said Katie Guikema, a special education freshman who went to Saturday’s game with a group of friends.