Hockey Lockout, Cardinals in Playoffs: Brentwood, Maplewood Restaurants Don't Agree on Benefit

Hockey is in a lockout and the Cardinals didn’t make it to the World Series.

That must be bad news for restaurants like O'B Clark's in Brentwood or The Post in Maplewood, right?

The economic effect of professional sports teams on a city is well known, but it seems the love isn’t spread equally.

Owners and managers at some Maplewood and Brentwood restaurants had different takes on the spoils of successful teams, depending on the type.

The Post Sports Bar and Grill co-owner Adrian Glass said when any hometown team is in playoffs it boosts his sales numbers anywhere from 75 to 100 percent. But that’s not all.

“If the Cardinals are getting blown out by the fifth inning, you see a lot of people starting to close their checks out early and take off,” Glass said. “If it’s a close game you’ll see those sales continue to inflate throughout the entire game.”

O’B Clark co-owner Joe O’Brien is more concerned about the hockey stoppage. He said it hurts his business, and any restaurants with games on TV.

“It might be the third or fourth hockey stoppage over the past 10 years,” he said.

“I think if this doesn’t get resolved soon, people will find other things to do besides watch hockey, and that’s unfortunate because hockey is a great sport,” O’Brien said.

He said with baseball season ending, there’s still football, but that’s just one or two days a week.

“I don’t think there’s a place in St. Louis that wouldn’t benefit by having a World Series here, you get more people employed, it’s a win-win when they win,” he said.

A restaurant-owner right just south on South Brentwood Boulevard might not agree with O’Brien on that last statement.

Frank Papa, owner of Frank Papa’s Ristorante, said when the Cardinals are in the playoffs or even in the hunt, he gets approximately 50 percent less business.

Last year he tried putting in a TV to attract more diners on game nights.

“We did get a few more people this year than last year,” Papa said. “They decided they’d rather sit and have a nice meal and watch the game,” but he said he can’t compete with O’Brien on game nights.

“He’s loving it to death, I’m jealous,” Papa said. “But we wish well for the Cardinals, there’s a double-edged sword.”

The same thing was heard in Maplewood.

“I love baseball, but it’s a double-edged sword when you’re in the restaurant business,” general manager of Acero, Trent Pappan said.

“We don’t want a TV, we want people eat food and enjoy their food and wine,” Pappan said.

He said they try to keep their diners updated, but if they’re eating out, they might be recording a game, and they probably don’t care.

Pappan said when the Cardinals are in the World Series at home the business is mainly downtown.

“They talk about the economy boom from the World Series; not in the county, maybe in the city on Clark Street, but not at Acero in Maplewood,” he said.

But Pappan wasn’t concerned.

“Now that it’s over, we’ve got Wash U parents weekend,” he said. “We’re looking really good tonight. Reservations are always appreciated.”