[ad_1]
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The streets of downtown San Diego were crowded with thousands of sports fans Thursday filling restaurants and bars. Businesses that haven’t seen much traffic all winter were celebrating crowds and lines of people filling their seats.
“Between the Padres and SDSU, it feels like pre-COVID, honestly,” said Henry’s Pub owner Bree Lochmiller. “It feels like something is happening again.”
Many restaurants were at capacity and some were standing room only as people from all across the county came to the Gaslamp to enjoy Opening Day.
“It reminded me of back in the day when San Diego nightlife was great and when people were here,” Chris Cordero said. “I was born and raised here, it made me feel really good being here.”
Cordero traveled from Santee to spend the afternoon in downtown.
Some businesses have complained saying issues with safety and cleanliness have deterred people from visiting downtown. Some have even cut back hours because it was slow and people just weren’t walking through the doors.
“We need our city to be top of downtown and to make sure it’s a safe and clean environment. With all those things, it circles back to people coming down here again,” Lochmiller added.
Mike Minor with Margaritaville is celebrating a day of exceptional business too.
“For us down here it’s something we’ve been waiting for all winter,” Minor said. “Winter time is always quiet here. When this starts to happen, everyone has doors open.”
[ad_2]
