Olympic Games give boost to Calgary bars, sports retailers

The Olympics in Sochi have been good for business at several Calgary establishments.

At F.A.T.S. Bar and Grill in the city’s northwest, Jennifer Foord says she has been tallying up profits since the Games began.

“There's definitely an influx. Right off the bat from the morning, you would normally not see, you know, the 10 to 12 tables in here packed necessarily on a regular morning at 10 a.m. MT because we're closed. So, it really has helped our business,” she said.

According to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, there have been 28 requests from bars from bars around the province to open earlier — half of those in Calgary.

Wayne Renick, president of Jersey City, says his stores are also benefiting from the Olympic spirit.

“Compared to a non-Olympic year we've seen sales anywhere from 26 to 27 hundred per cent increase in things like jerseys, T-shirts, head wear. It's really making a difference in our stores.”

Renick said a similar boom happened during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, so he made sure the stores were ready, bringing in extra stock to meet the demand.

“We forecasted very heavily, and we’ve met our expectations and I think next week we’re probably going to exceed what we thought we were going to do, so we’re pretty excited.”