Patriots Playoff Run Means Big Business for Local Food Joints

(NECN: Katelyn Tivnan) - Matt Carlsen is looking forward to a big weekend in Boston sports -- but watching the games will be a mix of work and play.

The manager at the Blackstone Tap in Worcester, Mass., said he'll be spending part of his weekend serving hundreds of customers.

“The more the teams win, the more people go out, the better the playoff games,” Calrsen said. “It's exciting.

“It’s always good for business when the local teams do well. You get to go out and enjoy it. Hopefully they win and get to the Super Bowl. It's been a good run around here lately, as far as sports go.”

The bar is looking forward to big business during the Patriots game on Sunday, but Carlsen said Saturday's Bruins game is also a highly anticipated event.

“You can't beat watching hockey on TV,” he said. “As far as football ending soon, it's always good to have something else on. Between that and basketball, there’s something almost on every night.”

“There’s a lot of Pats fans in the area, so we try to promote the game and sell as much pizza and food as we can,” said Al Mansoor of Road Runner Pizza. “It’s good for business.”

Mansoor described what will be a hectic weekend at his restaurant on Grafton Street. He said Sunday Patriots games are always busy, but for Sunday's playoff game, he expects to dish out even more pizzas than usual.

“On a football Sunday, [we sell] probably 300 pizzas -- around that,” he said.

Wings over Worcester is also gearing up for game day. They expect to cook up close to two tons of wings on Sunday.

“We'll be taking a lot of orders, putting out a lot of chicken, a lot of ribs,” said owner Matthew Kamins. “It's just fantastic.”

Kamins expects phones will be ringing off the hook. Orders are already coming in. He said it’s loyal fans of both the food and football that make it happen.

“Things get busy,” Kamins said. “I mean, Massachusetts is great football. They love the Patriots, and who could say anything more?”

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