DENVER (KDVR) — Businesses of all kinds in Denver received a much-needed bounce back from the pandemic with a little help from MLB All-Star Week.
“Any businesses right now that made it through the pandemic, the All-Star Game is like, ‘Here you go! Here’s your prize,” Denver pedicab driver Kyle Burtman said.
Burtman said he was shocked at how many events All-Star Week included.
“It’s not just the game but the derby and other stuff. We have been going nonstop since Friday afternoon,” Burtman said.
He said he worked a 16-hour day on Saturday, and he even took Sunday off to rest. In the last three years of being a pedicab driver, he said this is the busiest he’s seen Denver.
“This is some much-needed money for this neighborhood,” Burtman said.
There were dozens of vendors on the street outside of Coors Field. Many of those vendors have worked the corners around Coors Field for years.
“We didn’t make any money for a year. So it’s nice to have people look out for us,” said Dalton Rodriguez, who owns and runs a hotdog stand on 20th and Blake streets.
Rodriguez said his brother had owned the stand on that corner since 2007, back when the Rockies won the World Series. He said even that night isn’t comparable to the traffic he’s seen during All-Star Weekend.
“A lot of people haven’t been out like this since COVID, and it’s been great,” Rodriguez said.
Bars and restaurants around the stadium were also packed for the big game — a lot of this traffic helping businesses get back on their feet.