World Cup's economic boost varies among Houston businesses
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A packed watch party. Photo: Courtesy of Bayou Heights Bier Garten
The World Cup promised an economic boost for Houston, and while some businesses have cashed in, the payoff has been uneven.
Why it matters: Hosting seven World Cup games was a major investment, with city leaders and organizers expecting tourism and visitor spending to generate an estimated $1.5 billion in economic impact.
Yes, but: Many Houston restaurants haven't seen the surge in customers they expected, Michael Shine, executive director of the Texas Restaurant Association's Greater Houston chapter, tells Axios.
- The biggest winners have been restaurants near Fan Festival in East Downtown and sports bars that regularly draw soccer crowds, he says.
- Some restaurants featuring cuisines from the countries playing were also popular.
Threat level: The disappointing turnout comes as many restaurants are still trying to recover from the pandemic. Shine says roughly 70% aren't making money given the increased costs of food, labor and rent. And 12 to 15 Houston restaurants close each month on average.
- "We're all desperate to try to find a way to get back to what we think is normal, back prior to COVID," he says.
What they're saying: "Like the Super Bowl, it just never really does what we think it's going to do except for, in our city, a handful of operations and a handful of people," Shine says.
Case in point: Memorial Trail Ice House has been one of the exceptions, even though it's well outside the Fan Festival area.
- Owner Chris Allen tells Axios nearly 500 people packed the neighborhood bar for the Mexico vs. South Korea group-stage match — far more than on a typical day — even though he did little World Cup marketing or decorating because he didn't expect much spillover.
- "It's a pleasant surprise, and we're just thankful that people found us and are coming over to watch the matches."
Bayou Heights Bier Garten has also benefited. Co-owner Andy Aweida says the business also got a boost from being included on lists of Houston's top places to watch matches and from its ties to soccer bar Pitch 25.
- Aweida says Bayou Heights Bier Garten stocked beers and spirits popular in countries with teams in the tournament and played music tied to each country after matches. He thinks the small details helped the place stand out.
- He adds that "with Fan Fest being free, that's probably taken away from some of the downtown areas."
Zoom out: A new Bank of America analysis suggests it's "not obvious" the World Cup has had a strong impact on job growth, with host and non-host cities posting similar gains.