Local restaurant sales skyrocket on Super Bowl Sunday

The rusting front door of Aver’s Pizza broke at the hinges two years ago during the second quarter of the Super Bowl.

No one knows whether the door broke from age or from the high number of delivery drivers rushing in and out of the restaurant with orders.

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the most profitable days of the year for bars and delivery-based restaurants, but the order overflow can drive both assistant managers and front doors into early retirement.

“You could say the door went and sat on the bench,” said general manager Chris Wolf.

Wolf said a glass specialist, who was already under the influence, was driven to the restaurant to fix the door.

“(They) were there in a heartbeat,” Wolf said. “After an hour, the door was fixed and I got back in time to see the Giants’ last drive to beat the Patriots.”

Last time the Indianapolis Colts were in the Super Bowl, Pizza X, then known as Pizza Express, had its own troubles.

Manager Brad Kale said that by 5 p.m. the place was so busy the assistant manager quit.

“He had a bad day and wasn’t too motivated, so he just dropped it,” Kale said.

Pizza’s not the only thing that draws in profits from the Super Bowl – chicken wings are also a major seller.

Wings Xtreme manager Francis Bearch said on the day of the Super Bowl, the company does not take phone calls because it has reached maximum capacity solely from pre-orders.

“I come in at 4 a.m. and blanch all the wings we have,” Bearch said. “We get a few orders of 800 wings at a time.”

An IU fraternity once ordered 1,200 wings, the largest order Wings Xtreme has ever received, he said.

Wings Xtreme receives so many requests that they don’t accept pre-orders under $75 the week before the game.

Aside from delivery services, bars also have their fair share of customers.

Joana Glasscott, general manager of Yogi’s Grill and Bar, has already seen a major increase in sales this year since the playoffs started.

During the AFC Championship Game, Yogi’s made more than $12,000 on food and drink sales, a 60 percent increase from the $7,500 on a typical NFL Sunday and a 300 percent increase from the average $4,000 on a non-NFL Sunday.

“We will be completely full,” Glasscott said. “A few years ago when the Colts were in, we had a line out the door at 1 o’clock for a 6 o’clock game.”

Despite all the people, bartender Mike Glasscott said the customers do not usually get out of hand.

“Every once in a while someone will drop a glass or something, but it’s really not that bad,” he said.

Last time the Colts were in the Super Bowl, however, Mike Glasscott admits there was a man who threw a beer bottle at one of the TV screens.

“Everyone acts different because its not their house,” Glasscott said. “Why don‘t you throw a beer bottle at your own TV?”