Did L.A. businesses get the promised World Cup bump?

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Businesses and bureaucrats got an early indicator this week of whether the World Cup was worth the cost for Los Angeles—beer sales.Although there were some struggling sectors and important lessons to apply before the Olympics, the number of people pounding pints at pubs was unprecedented.At Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica, the line for England games formed four hours before the game began.

Customers ordered full English breakfasts and Guinnesses and sang national anthems.In an industry that hasn’t seen traffic come back since COVID-19 and was further pummeled by the Palisades fire last year, it was a welcome sight for Lisa Powers, the restaurant’s operations manager.“The city felt alive again,” she said.The British pub had prepared for months, buying televisions, modifying seating, hiring staff and creating a World Cup cocktail menu.Employees were still surprised by the turnout.“A lot of businesses have closed down around us, and we’ve had some scary times,” she said.

“Hopefully people will return with their families, and make it how it used to feel.“According to data from the Beer Institute, many bars and restaurants in the area felt the same impact.In California, the World Cup resulted in a 15% increase in beer sales in restaurants, bars and stadiums.

That’s a much bigger bump than other host states saw and the equivalent of close to 5 million bottles of beer.Other local businesses, including In-N-Out, Trader Joe’s and Erewhon, also saw a surge.

Soccer World Cup fans flock to In N Out, Erewhon and Trader Joes for a taste of Californian culture.Los Angeles and other host cities needed soccer fans to spend money to make the event worth all the time, effort and money spent.A rosy 2024 report projected the World Cup could bring hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of...