WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The ACC Men's Basketball Tournament is back in the District for the first time since 2016, and local restaurant owners hope that along with it, comes a boost in business.
Rick Fowler, who is the general manager of Clyde's in Gallery Place, says this week will be huge for his restaurant and bar.
"It’s going to add tens of thousands of dollars to our bottom line," he said.
Clyde's is steps away from Capital One Arena, which means there will be a lot of foot traffic in-and-out of his business too.
"When we have a big Caps game or a big tournament like this next door, it’s really what we’re about," he explained, "it’s what the business is based on."
Raul Canas is the general manager of Taffer's Tavern on 6th Street, Northwest and says the impact of big events like the ACC Tournament is noticeable.
"You can see the difference when the arena is dark compared to when we have games," he said, "we have a full restaurant consistently compared to busy times on a normal restaurant schedule."
The uptick in business isn't just from casual fans. Both general managers say they've been contacted by alumni groups from several ACC institutions to reserve rooms and spaces for events.
"We’ve got an event driven business here, so when you have seven premier events happening over a five day period? We’re looking forward to a really busy week," said Fowler.
Business that is needed, especially in a challenging post-pandemic economy.
"We’ve had a lot of closures of restaurants bars close by to us, and we definitely want to be able to survive and the support from local and from outside the market makes a huge difference," said Canas, "we really appreciate it.
There has also been an increase in fan attendance at the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament in the past few years. According to the NCAA, almost 100,000 fans showed up to watch the tournament in Greensboro, N.C. last year, which is up about 16,000 fans from 2022 when it was in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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