Romeo, Mich., resident Bill Blancke, left, fisheries and wildlife senior Chris Dohrmann, center, and zoology senior Matt Hiles, right, wait in line Oct. 31, 2013, outside of The Riviera Cafe Restaurant, 321 M.A.C. Dozens of students and visitors went to the bar dressed in Halloween costumes and ready to purchase $3 pitchers. Margaux Forster/The State News
While it is uncertain whether or not MSU will knock off the Wolverines this weekend on the gridiron, many local businesses are certain they will be winning when it comes to racking in high revenue.
Many of the local on- and off-campus businesses will be expecting high numbers throughout the weekend with Halloween and the MSU vs. U-M football game falling on the same weekend.
With Halloween and the football game drawing plenty of attention from students and alumni, Dublin Square Irish Pub General Manager Eric Allchin, expects the week to be one of the best the bar has ever experienced.
“Halloween falling on the same week as the Michigan game is one of those perfect storms,” Allchin said. “We’re prepared for it, and we look forward to it.”
To accommodate the increase in guests, Dublin plans to staff more bouncers, bartenders and servers. Allchin said there will be decorations, extra specials, extra events and extra DJs as well.
Businesses such as Dublin Square have been around for years and know what to expect in the upcoming weekend, but Peppino’s, a new sports pizzeria, has yet to experience the MSU vs. U-M football atmosphere. Ray Yentzer, a host at Peppino’s, said the restaurant is expecting a crazy turnout for both events.
“This Saturday, we do have extra staff to accommodate this weekend,” Yentzer said, adding the restaurants full capacity is 300 people. “It’s kind of a challenge just because we’re fairly new. Everyone wants to come in and have that first-time experience to see what we’re like.”
Despite the restaurant’s rookie status this year, Yentzer said the pizzeria is prepared and hoping for high revenues.
The Marriott at University Place has been booked for months, with this weekend being one of the hotel’s biggest events. To ensure things go smoothly, Front Desk Supervisor Anne Wallenberg said the Marriott has a two-night-minimum stay this weekend, with everyone arriving on Friday and checking out Sunday.
“That just kind of helps with game day preparation,” Wallenberg said. “You don’t have people coming in and trying to check-in or anything so we can really focus on getting the guest to the games.”
Even though the Marriott has been operating for 25 years, Wallenberg said because of the big in-state rivalry, they are bringing their entire staff on to accommodate the already sold-out hotel for the weekend.
“What we’ve kind of noticed in the past years is that it feels like the whole state of Michigan is going to be in East Lansing when Michigan comes to Michigan State,” she said.
The Spartan Bookstore General Manager, Robbin Manor said it should be the best out of the seven games as far as sales are concerned.
“It’s a big game and it’ll be one of the best sales of the season,” she said.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
