The only days Burrito Brothers Taco Co. still sees a steady stream of hungry clients are gamedays.
Randy Akerson, the Burrito Bros. owner, said his restaurant makes four to five times more revenue on these days compared to an average Saturday. But following the rescheduling of the Louisiana State University game to Nov. 19 in Baton Rouge, his business will have to re-adjust due to the loss.
“It’s catastrophic,” he said. “I can’t believe that they’ve done this.”
The original game, scheduled to be in Gainesville, was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. In rescheduling, UF canceled its home game against Presbyterian College, which was originally scheduled for Nov. 19.
Akerson said if weather causes the South Carolina game on Nov. 12 to be canceled, Burrito Bros. won’t be able to survive.
“To mess with the entire economy of the town to make LSU happy seems kind of wrong-headed to me,” Akerson said. “I would like the university to explain why they did this.”
Damon Bailey, a manager at Italian Gator Pizza By the Slice, said the restaurant receives about twice as much income on gamedays, but the loss of the home games aren’t devastating.
“We missed the first two games due to renovations, so we would’ve really liked to have as many games as possible,” he said.
Ryan Prodesky, the director of operations at The Swamp Restaurant, said hundreds of businesses and thousands of workers in Gainesville rely on football season.
The restaurant’s income always sees an increase during home football games, and the money is put away for the slow season, he said. Now, The Swamp is left without that expected income.
“It’s a large hit that we’ll take,” he said. “That revenue is going to be tough to make up.”
Prodesky said he believes the University Athletic Association is keeping local economies in mind during its decisions, and The Swamp will hopefully make up the revenue during next year’s increased number of home games.
Amy Ritch, who helps her father work the Gators Plus tent during home games, said a majority of Gators Plus’ profits come from home games, and when the games are canceled, the store loses sales.
“You still have to pay rent, and you still have inventory,” she said.
She said Gators Plus isn’t planning on making any cuts or adjustments due to the game cancellations, but, like Prodesky, she is optimistic next year’s increase in home games will make up for the loss.
“One can only hope,” Ritch said.
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