Markets, restaurants gear up for game day

Feb. 9—You don't have to be an economist to understand Justin Yuran's forecast for beer sales at local stores and distributers starting today.

"It's going to be a madhouse," said Yuran, who is the manager of Hickory Beer Distributing in Hermitage.

For many bars, restaurants, beer stores and supermarkets, Super Bowl Sunday is among the top performing day for sales.

Cases of Miller Lite and Busch Light are piled high at Hickory Beer.

"They're going to be the best sellers," Yuran said.

Like coaches of the two Super Bowl teams, there's important strategy at play for those selling food and alcoholic beverages for Sunday's main meal.

When it comes to meat, wings are king, said Tim Rogers, co-owner of Shenango Valley Meat and Poultry in Sharon.

Hosts of Super Bowl parties at their home already have drafted their plan: Keep the meal simple.

"People want to make it easy for themselves," Rogers said. "They don't want to be running around checking every few minutes on how things are cooking."

Chicken wings and pizza are easy to cook at home or buy at restaurants. That's why they top the food list at home Super Bowl parties, he said.

Hilltop Pizza in Brookfield is set, said pizzeria owner Nancy Suharba.

"We're going to be ready with all of our staff here on Sunday," Suharba said.

Buffalo chicken and pirogis are popular pizza toppings at the store, she said. Other items like cavatelli and salads also are good sellers, she said.

The store also sells uncooked pizzas so customers can stick them in their oven and serve them hot when desired.

But Hilltop doesn't crank out pizzas in the days before Sunday.

"We still make it from scratch that day like every other day," Suharba said.

Mr. D's supermarket in Brookfield finds its own Buffalo chicken wing dip is a great seller for the day, Tim Blank, the supermarket's hot food manager said.

"And we have macaroni salad, baked beans and potato salad," Blank said. "And our bakery makes pizza."

Smoky Martin's BBQ in Hermitage is creating a Super Bowl buffet on Sunday. The menu includes pulled pork and pulled chicken, pasta salad and pizza. The buffet special starts at 5 p.m. — about 90 minutes before the kickoff.

Bryan King, the Hermitage restaurant's general manager, said he expects to get a crowd.

"We prefer people make reservations," King said.

There may be another contender this year for the best day at restaurants and bars.

St. Patrick's Day is always good for the hospitality trade. But this year it falls on a Friday, which means customers may hang around longer.

"For us I think St. Patrick's Day will be better than the Super Bowl," King said.