HOUSTON – The Astros Postseason success is is giving local businesses near Minute Maid park quite the economic boost.
“It’s a big bonus because last year was not good. We were closed for almost three months and the Astros were playing, but we couldn’t have any customers, so we had a very bad year,” said Irma Galvan, owner of Irma’s Original.
The October home games keep fans in the area and businesses are taking notice.
“The numbers are almost, like maybe, double maybe, sometimes triple, but we just look forward to it every year, and not only for our business, but the people that work with us. They look for the overtime,” Galvan said.
Galvan has been in business for 30 years.
She’s been serving up delicious dishes before the Juice Box was even a thing.
“Now, we have more people coming in and more businesses opening up. We’ve got breweries opening up, restaurants and apartments. People love downtown,” said Galvan.
Tout Suite, a quiet café that serves fine foods, said the only thing sweeter than their baked good is another playoff home game.
“We have it marked on our calendar and dates circled, a home game at 7 p.m. We’ll maybe even bring in extra staff members,” said Tout Suite spokesman Edwin Castaneda.
Businesses said they started planning for Game 1 of the ALCS last week and hope the hometown team has continued success.