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Milwaukee businesses gear up for the NCAA Tournament

city of milwaukee
Posted at 5:25 AM, Mar 18, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-18 13:42:31-04

MILWAUKEE — With Milwaukee buzzing over the arrival of the NCAA tournament, business owners are even more excited as thousands of new customers are expected to come through their doors.

Bars and restaurants are eagerly anticipating thousands of visitors this weekend. Many owners said they’re even opening up hours earlier than usual these next three days to try to get some of that extra business. And after a rough few years during the pandemic, they say it couldn’t come at a better time.

The owner of Uncle Buck’s said the last few years have been painful for the entire area. And while they could never have imagined what they would face, like closing dining spaces and limiting services, they survived. He said having the NCAA tournament just steps from their front doors is the perfect way to showcase Milwaukee to the rest of the country.

“We're ambassadors. We're not only business owners, but we want people to come to Milwaukee and say, ‘What a great city.' That's our goal. We want people to think about Milwaukee. Milwaukee is on the map. We're going to keep it on the map, we’re going to keep it growing," said Michael Vitucci, the owner of Uncle Buck's.

Vitucci said he's anticipating a 150% uptick in business this weekend compared to last year at this time, and he's probably not the only one.

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