When the seats are empty

Doug Palsi summed up the situation perfectly.
“I’m sitting at home watching the Masters with my wife on a Giants-Eagles game day. That would never happen!” Palsi is the owner of the Redds Restaurant & Biergarten in Carlstadt, which his family has run since 2002. He said his establishment is very much event-driven, so the no-fans policy at Met Life Stadium hits extremely hard.
“Every April, I’m sitting there looking for the NFL schedule to come out to start planning then,” Palsi said. He explained that during a usual season, the Friday and Saturdays before game day draw droves of opposing fans to his restaurant before they head off to Met Life on a Sunday to watch their team take on the Giants or Jets.
Covid-19 has unleashed a sustained attack on the economy, with even more pain felt in the hospitality and fan-driven industries. And while most NFL stadiums host one team, Met Life Stadium’s economic ecosystem is getting hit especially hard, since two teams are affected.
Football is just a piece of the puzzle, though. There are normally concerts and soccer matches, which also help support hotels and restaurants. And in a Covid-19 world, that is a whole lot of lost revenue.
Jim Kirkos, President & CEO of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, estimated that the region is feeling an impact of tens of millions dollars, with Main tsreet businesses and hospitality venues either being forced to close or struggling to survive.
“It trickles down to everything,” Kirkos said.
Many of the chamber’s member businesses are feeling the ripple effect from spectator-less events at Met Life Stadium. The uncertainty has forced many to plan in three-month blocks, instead of being able to forecast long-term. It has also forced many small business owners into tough decisions. “There’s going to be people that go bankrupt. There’s going to be people that can’t afford to keep their doors open. There’s going to be people that may get evicted or can’t work out arrangements with their landlords,” Kirkos said.
So far, while some businesses around the Meadowlands have shut their doors, Kirkos said many are trying to hang on, hoping to make it to the other side of a potential vaccine or effective treatment. They are also hoping to be on the receiving end of more government stimulus money.
Kirkos said the stalled talks in Washington halted the momentum many businesses felt after the first round. “So the confidence that was growing on businesses because they got some relief is now circling back to fear and anxiety,” he explained.
But Kirkos said there has been one positive that has come out of all of the economic pain. Businesses have been forced to innovate, embrace technology, and adapt in ways that when things get better, their business volume could expand.
“By proper planning, and looking into the future, and innovating, and being creative, and not being afraid to change the way you operate your business, that will increase a small business owner’s chance of surviving.”
One such business highlighted by the chamber president: Redd’s.
Palsi said he was fortunate that he had some of the infrastructure and equipment in place to quickly adapt and scale up for outdoor dining.
“We were equipped for it. We were ready to roll.” Despite being able to keep the restaurant doors open, it has been survival mode at Redd’s since re-opening in June. But Palsi said he is all-in and credits the relationship he has with banks and vendors for having the confidence to move forward in such an uncertain and unstable environment.
“We’re mom-and-pop. We’re no big conglomerate. We do what we can, but you try to survive. What’s the alternative,” he asked. “Families count on us. My cooks, my servers, my bartenders. I know their kids. What do I say to them? You’ve got to try to keep it going.”
Kirkos also highlighted Anabella’s House of Mozzarella in East Rutherford for its efforts dealing with the COVID-19 nightmare. The establishment, which has been open since 2004, is the closest eatery to Met Life Stadium. Owner Bill Pompeo said that concerts are really big for his business, along with the excitement and droves of football fans lining up in front of Annabella’s on a typical Sunday. “It’s kind of a ghost town here on Sunday, when it’s usually bustling,” he explained.
In these pandemic times, Pompeo credited the community support of his 17-year-old establishment, calling his customers “family.” They have also gotten creative with parts of their menu and relied heavily on their delivery and takeout, which Pompeo calls their “bread-and-butter.”
As for the road forward, Pompeo remains optimistic, as he has throughout the pandemic. Joking that people say he views the world through rose-colored glasses, he has not let COVID get him down.
“I think this is the greatest country in the world and we will always find a way to get things done,” Pompeo explained. He believes Annabella’s job is to cut out a little vacation for people in their day, giving them good food, putting a smile on their face, and trying to make them laugh. “Sometimes we worry so much about everything that we forget to actually enjoy everything,” Pompeo said. “Optimism is the model of how we try to treat our customers.”
At Met Life Stadium itself, both teams are losing out on ticket sales, merchandise, concessions, and parking. That also means many of those workers who help with stadium operations have been furloughed or laid off this season with no fans being allowed at the stadium. That’s hundreds of people who have diminished spending power, which affects the broader economy.
On the flip side, consumers who are used to spending a big chunk of discretionary income at Met Life Stadium during football season could be buying other things. A quick poll of 10 Giants season ticket holders ranges from $150 to $500 saved per each home game. Multiply that 75,000-plus people and then by 8 home games, and you get the idea of the scale of the numbers at play.
Kirkos said another aspect that has been devastating is American Dream. Despite the rollercoaster history of the entertainment and retail complex, he claimed things were on track in March before the pandemic forced a construction shutdown. The current capacity is 25%, which creates another tough economic ripple. Meadowlands officials still maintain that American Dream can become a magnet for visitors.
Kirkos and Palsi were on the same page in crediting the local municipalities for helping to cut through the red tape, especially as businesses got creative with ways to maximize their revenues. “I think the general consensus is that local municipalities have been very sensitive and very agreeable to help make modifications to help their local businesses,” Kirkos said. And both men felt the state’s decisions on COVID-19 have saved many lives across New Jersey.
As far as how the rest of 2020 and 2021 look, they are each cautiously optimistic about 2021.
Kirkos said that while a potential vaccine would help the situation, he does not see life returning to any sort of normalcy until at least the third quarter of 2021. But he believes the hard lessons that have been learned by businesses will be useful moving forward. “I think a crisis like this will force people to look differently [at their businesses],” Kirkos said.
While Palsi has been able to maximize his space for some special events, such as comedy shows, he is hoping for concerts and large events at Met Life Stadium to return by next summer. He just wants things to get back to normal since right now is not even close to what that would be.
“Get back to the regular normal, not this new normal BS. I’m sick of hearing that. I want to get back to NORMAL.”