It was okay. Kind of depended on where they are.
For months, Houston restaurant owners prepared for a World Cup windfall, with some people comparing the tournament’s expected economic impact to hosting seven Super Bowls. Now, with Houston’s seven World Cup games over, results are in. And they’re a mixed bag.
At Tomball’s Tejas Chocolate + Barbecue, sales climbed an estimated 15% to 20%, owner Scott Moore Jr. said. But road closures and barricades for the FIFA Fan Festival slashed business at EaDo bakery Koffeteria to a crawl. Craft Pita founder Rafael Nasr said he redecorated and brought in some soccer fans — but saw only a minimal lift to his bottom line.
Restaurants “didn’t really see, as a group, any increase whatsoever,” said Mike Shine, the executive director of the Texas Restaurant Association’s Greater Houston Chapter. “When you’re talking about the community as a whole, we didn’t really see a lot from it.”
But Shine said some restaurants capitalized on World Cup fever far more than others.
Businesses in the right locations, like J-Bar-M Barbecue, had a built-in advantage. More than 650,000 domestic visitors came to EaDo between June 11 and June 30 — up 215% from the same period last year — according to East Downtown Management District Executive Director Elizabeth Whitton.
Others created reasons for fans to gather, like Jethro’s Cocktail Lounge in Montrose, which brought in a projector for watch parties. Another subset, like the Kolache Shoppe, catered celebrations. And still more restaurants drew in tourists with must-try Houston foods, barbecue first and foremost.
Barbecue and Tex-Mex restaurants did the best, according to the story. Not surprising, since I assume a lot of foreign visitors were most interested in the food we’re best known for. Most of the quotes in the story are positive ones, so maybe the overall picture was bright. But you probably had to be in the right place, and/or serving the right food, to really take advantage.