Local Businesses Gearing Up for Kickoff

The Super Bowl on Sunday will be one of the most watched sporting events of the year, as football fans and even non-fans gather around the TV to catch the biggest game of the NFL season, played this year by the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

Around town, restaurants and businesses have been gearing up for the influx of business stirred up by the match up between the hometown-favorite Patriots and the team that stole the Patriots perfect season from them in the 2007 Super Bowl.

Being that many New Englanders grew up watching the Giants, as the Patriots were not a franchise until 1963, the matchup between the two teams creates even more of a buzz with a good deal of Giants fans living in New England, the heart of Patriots-country.

Mike Wright, owner of on Route 101A said his store, which has a huge variety of chicken wings leading off its menu, has ordered 800 pounds of wings for game day.

Earlier in the playoff season, during the Patriots game versus the Denver Broncos, Wright said 320 pounds of wings went out the door and Sunday is expected to be much busier.

“A lot of people order ahead and pick them up,” Wright said Friday. “We've already started taking orders. It will be very busy, but it's easy.”

Hungry Herbs delivers to most of Merrimack, Amherst and Hollis and part of Nashua – to about the highway exits, he said.

Wright said the biggest sellers are always pizza and wings and they are ready.

“Just that game we sold 320 pounds of wings, this is a bigger deal, but 320 pounds is a lot,” Wright said.

Hungry Herbs is taking pre-orders. Call 883-7000 and find the full menu on their website.

On the other end of town, owner Lisa Lefebvre said she and her daughter and business partner Stevia were rolling out their “game day” caramel corn cupcake Saturday morning at the start of business. The butter cake has a caramel center and caramel frosting, topped with pieces of caramel popcorn and sea salt.

The sweet shop is also selling football-themed cupcakes with chocolate helmets and chocolate footballs that adorn the top. The store is open until 3 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sunday. Flavors include Snickers, Mudslide, Red Hot, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate and Vanilla.

For those having a Super Bowl party but don't want to cook, the is serving up platters of food with their Parties To-Go menu.

Pick up the Tavern's signature chowder, a pan of lasagna and platters of veggies or shrimp cocktail to take home for the game. Orders can be placed by calling 429-2022.

If you'd rather get out for the game, the Homestead is holding its last 29-cent wing special in the Tavern where there are HD flatscreen TVs in every direction. The wing promotion has been a popular one through the football season.
“It's been huge, ridiculous,” Zaccardo said. And they expect Super Bowl Sunday to be no exception.

Down the road, is holding a Super Bowl Party inside its own bar, Bud and Bud Light draft specials, happy hour appetizers and with half off wings, patrons can catch the game on one of three TVs and munch on specials or order up the restaurant's Mexican fare.

For store owner Dan Brown, he always sees a spike in traffic from customers looking for New England sports apparel. T-shirts, sweatshirts and more hang just inside the door and Brown said he's had a lot of people looking for Patriots gear.

“They come in looking to support their team,” Brown said. “There's definitely an increase in traffic (when one of New England's teams enter the playoffs). The school did something like Super Bowl Friday, so we had a lot of people come looking for that.”

Kick off for Sunday's game is at 6:30 p.m.