HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Sports bars and restaurants in Hampton Roads are gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday and expecting large crowds. Many have already received several reservations for Sunday, with several fans eager to cheer on their teams.
"We’ve sold some larger tables, most of our bar. You have a couple of seats left at the bar," Curtis Lyons, the owner of Roger Brown’s Restaurant and Sports Bar said.
The owners of the Portsmouth restaurant say they are on their way to serving up to 500 people on Super Bowl Sunday. At The Dirty Buffalo in Chesapeake, several customers have already made reservations.
"We’ve got a bunch of reservations for in-house seats," Kevin Wagner, a Dirty Buffalo franchise owner, said. Ryan Lynn, Dirty Buffalo co-owner, added, "Last year - and obviously 2020 - were a little different for us. This year almost feels like we’re kind of back to normal."
But restaurants are hoping inflation doesn’t put a dent in Super Bowl plans.
"With supply chain issues, there is no fair price anymore. And we unfortunately did have to raise the prices roughly six months ago," Lynn said.
He says inflation caused their locations to raise prices for the first time in six years.
"Just last year, wing prices rose almost $50 a case," Lynn said.
Inflation has also caused Roger Brown’s to raise prices.
"We probably changed the price on them five different times over the last year," said Lyons.
With this year’s Super Bowl match-up between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams comes specialty menu items themed around both NFL teams.
"In terms of our themed menu, we have Cincinnati chili fries over. We got some shredded cheddar, onions and then Cincinnati chili. On the left are our wild animal fries, and those are themed towards the Rams," Lynn said.
Related: Your Super Bowl party will likely cost more this year, thanks to inflation
