"Brier boom" helps downtown London businesses score big

R.J. Joujou works the kitchen at Mercado Burrito in Covent Garden Market with her husband, Mohammad Amousa, who owns the place. They were not there when London last hosted the Brier national men's curling tournament 12 years ago, so this is their first taste of what happens when curling fans flood the city.

"We had a lot of voices from who's around us that we really have to prep for it, and they were right. It was really busy. Lunch time, dinner time. It's packed," said Joujou. "My normal prep will be the hot dishes on display with one backup. With the Brier, we have two to three backups ready."

The Brier national men's tournament has brought curling fans from across Canada and around the world to London's downtown core, and nearby businesses are seeing a pronounced uptick in traffic.

Joujou said that she's also noticed more variety in her clientele since the Brier started last Sunday.

"We have our own customers who are coming back, and then we have from the Brier customers who are from Calgary and Australia. I knew that they're from Australia, and since they started until now, every day they're here," said Joujou.

It isn't just restaurants that are seeing an influx of customers. Elsewhere in the Market, at Magpie's Collected Creations, manager Stephanie Janke said she's also noticed a lot more people coming in lately.

"Usually, the beginning of the week is really quiet for us, but since the Brier has come in, it's been nice and busy," says Janke,. "It comes in waves during the matches or draws for the Brier. It's been pretty decent actually to see the downtown core kind of pop back alive again."

Janke said tourists tend to pick up things like greeting cards and fair trade clothing from Magpie's two shops in the Market. She said she's seen customers from as far off as Scotland come in.

"We have a lot of people coming in from like New Brunswick or British Columbia too, as well as just in general a lot of tourists coming in. We have some from the States that have come in either for the Brier or just travelling too, which is really awesome," said Janke.

Some seem to think time between curling matches is an opportunity to fit in some grooming. Across the street on King Street, United Cutz Barber Shop has also seen a bump in numbers.

"I have noticed a little bit of a peak as far as new faces coming into the shop and inquiring and seeing if they can get a cut. Typically January and February are slower months for us in the industry. So to see that spike was actually nice to see," says barber Christian McFarlane.

He says that while the new customers tend to be from around Toronto, he's had people from as far away as Europe walk into the shop.

"I've been here for six or seven months, and I can't complain, you know. You have your peaks and your valleys, but this year has been good," says McFarlane.

"It gets very busy at times, and I mean, it's good for a restaurant, right?" said Nykyta Rylstov, a line cook who works at ChickPZ.

He's been working there for over a year and said that while the restaurant is usually busy, since the Brier started, things have ramped up significantly.

"Well, when they first start coming, it's fine. So it's not chaotic or anything. But when you have 20 orders, everybody is waiting for something," said Rylstov. "Then we have to call everybody from the back kitchen. I would take orders, another guy would make just bowl bases, somebody else would just watch the grill, and somebody would be on the drinks."

Despite the heavier workloads, everyone CBC News spoke with welcomed the additional customers. A common sentiment was that they weren't just glad for the extra people in the shops. They were also happy to see more life in the downtown core.

"I would love it to always stay like this," says Joujou. "It's amazing for the business. It's nice to see people out and about."