Final Four Comes to the Alamo City

River Walk madness

by Greg Duran

Published in The San Antonio Express-News

To the best of our knowledge, there's no known cure for March Madness. Hoop fans will just have to bite the bullet until Saturday's Final Four.

And as the championship approaches the Alamo City, it turns out b-ball maniacs aren't the only ones who will be breaking a sweat. This is the first time San Antonio has hosted the megatournament, and with the four college teams will follow legions of their most loyal fans.

This means serious business for local restaurants, especially those concentrated in downtown and on the River Walk. Denise Grasso, spokeswoman for the Texas Restaurant Association, says the impact on San Antonio's restaurant industry will be significant.

"The Final Four will have a long-term as well as short-term impact, especially when people discover San Antonio's unique flavor," Grasso says. S.A.'s uniqueness will likely spawn more visits later on in the year from friends and relatives who hear positive word of mouth from Final Four visitors, Grasso says.

But how about that short-term impact? The idea of having thousands of hungry Final Four revelers ready to invade the local scene must have restaurant owners salivating – and restaurant managers and employees quaking in their boots.

The County Line BBQ River Walk, 111 Crockett St., which is normally open 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., plans to extend its hours to 2 a.m. to handle the weekend onslaught.

"We'll be pulling on more help, more food, more cooks," says manager Oscar Landeros. "It's going to be like Saturday night every night."

Down the river at Dick's Last Resort, 406 Navarro, there are no plans to stay open any later than usual, since the hours are already 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

"We're just basically making sure we have enough food and enough beer," says general manager Richard Dekan. "I think this will be the biggest event San Antonio has ever seen. Bigger than the Big 12 Championships."

"They say the Final Four is bigger than the Super Bowl," says Mark Vincent, manager of the Bayous on the River Walk and president of the San Antonio Restaurant Association. "We'll see if that's true."

Vincent says that any time there's a major event in San Antonio, it gives the restaurant community the opportunity to put its best foot forward. He adds that while the River Walk will be the focus of the hoopla this weekend, all those visitors contribute to business will be felt throughout the entire city.

"The Senior PGA tournament is in town this weekend, too, so for sporting types, this is a great place to be," he says. "The overall economic effect won't be felt just in downtown."

Rob Finney, vice president of business development of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, agrees.

"This event is huge in terms of total impact on the economy, not just in terms of benefits to restaurants and hotels," he says. Finney says that restaurant suppliers and vendors are also beneficiaries of the temporary boon to the economy through so-called indirect spending, which continues for a long time after the tourists have left.

Finney says he's heard unconfirmed estimates that direct spending could mean about $15 million to the local economy, and possibly double that amount in indirect spending.

Now, back to the River Walk.

Managers at Kangaroo Court, 512 River Walk, say they will play it by ear when it comes to deciding on whether to extend hours.

"We're staffing up and ordering heavy," says manager T.J. Pepper.

Pepper believes the Final Four crush will be comparable to Fiesta events such as the river parade, which has been known to draw upwards of 100,000 spectators. Pepper adds that, unlike the river parade, there will be other draws in town to occupy the Final Four throngs, which could mean fewer people on the River Walk.

Vincent, manager of the Bayous, appears to be taking it all in stride.

"We staff up, bring people in earlier, stay open later ... It all depends on the traffic," he says. "We do this on a constant basis, because of all the conference business we have throughout the year, too. We make sure we're prepared all the time."