Randy Wagener who owns “The Smoking Gun,” and “Spill the Beans Coffee Shop,” right next door says the return of Padres baseball is important to the livelihood of neighborhoods like the nearby Gaslamp area.
Wagener adds, “ It help keeps your average if you have a slow month or period. This busy period helps average everything out. That's what keeps us going 365 days a year.”
He says this time of the year usually brings in a lot of foot traffic, because of Spring Break and holidays.
But this weekend, there’s also the arrival of the rain, Mother Nature is scheduled to bring which makes things a little more difficult.
He says, “My initial thought is where are all the people going to go. San Diego is an outdoor city we have 17 miles of beaches, the zoo, Sea World and the Padres play outdoors.”
And that’s where restaurants, like the Smoking Gun, with a lot of indoor space thrive.
Wagener says, “It's like Wizard of Oz they don't want to get wet. People had to find a place to go indoors. There aren't a lot of indoor options for them.
We have a lot of hotels in the Gaslamp - people come to see what we're all about when there's nothing outside, they can do. They stay inside to stay dry.”
Aside from making sure they have enough staffing and supplies; Wagener says it’s about trying to stay ahead of the game preparing for the long days ahead.’
Wagener says, “Instead of having a huge pregame and post-game we're just going to have a busy day all day long. They'll still go to the game but their stay will be shorter. Which will drive them to come back out to eat and drink.”
