GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio — Football might be back, but the Ohio State Buckeyes are not. Without a fall football season this year, restaurants and bars around Central Ohio look much different on a Saturday afternoon.
What You Need To Know
- No Ohio State fall football season means no college game day foot traffic for many central Ohio restaurants and bars
- Grandview Cafe banking on NFL season to attract sports fans, offering “Game Day” menu
- Communities another part of the sports ecosystem impacted by not having a college football season
James Ball, director of operations at Grandview Café said not seeing scarlet and gray pack his restaurant this fall will be an adjustment.
“It’s going to be something we’ve never done before, you know. We love the Buckeyes here, we love Ohio State football here, and not to have them will be different,” said Ball.
If the season hadn’t been postponed, the Buckeyes would’ve been playing Oregon on Saturday, something Ball said would have brought more people into the café.
“There was definitely an increase in sales due to the Buckeyes,” he said. “The Buckeyes bring in a lot of people and a lot of excitement in the city.”
Jim Strode, chair of the Sports Administration Department at Ohio University, warned not having a college football season would have a direct effect on communities.
“It’s going to be difficult, especially when you look at college towns. Towns that are so reliant on student population coming back for the seven or eight months of the school year as well as the new dollars that come into the community,” explained Strode.
And while Columbus isn’t just quite a college town, many businesses like the Grandview Café bring in thousands from football foot traffic. Strode said the city does, too.
“You think of that additional tax revenue that helps fund the streets that helps fund the sewer system help build and continue to build the structure of a community it can be very detrimental,” he said.
This is yet another challenge central Ohio restaurants are facing during the pandemic. Just after, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine placed a 10 p.m. curfew on all alcohol sales in August, but Ball is remaining positive and looking forward to better days.
“You know, just like anything, you have challenges,” he said. “It’s forced us to think differently and pursue different avenues to continue to remain relevant.”
And he’s hoping a spring season will help him make up some lost revenue.
“We get a great draw from the spring game, so having more games in the spring would be awesome.”
