CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- You won't hear whistles, just the sizzling of the grill to kick off Super Bowl Sunday at restaurants all across Hampton Roads as they get ready to fill people’s orders before the game kicks off.
The team at Metro Diner got to work just after 6 a.m. on Sunday.
"This is a holiday for us,” Leah Stephens, the manager at Metro Diner, said. “We're excited to take a part in all that buzz and food, that game-day excitement."
The diner is excited not just for football, but for the business Super Bowl Sunday is known to bring.
The diner’s most fierce opponent recently, which has also faced off with other restaurants, is the coronavirus pandemic. Regardless, the diner says they predict they will be champions today. The reason, they said, is because people might choose to watch the game at home instead of the bar, with pandemic safety guidelines in effect.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease and health advisor to Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden during the pandemic, recently advised people to watch the Super Bowl from home this year. His advice comes as an effort to curtail spread and reduce mass gatherings.
"We felt it for a little bit as well,” Stephens said. “As people are settling into being home a little bit more, watching the game at home, that really gives us an opportunity.”
They also recruited a new star player to their roster this year -- chicken wings.
"It's kind of a new thing, got a little time to see, but it's been busy every other day, so Super Bowl Sunday, I imagine, we're going to go through a couple hundred."
The diner also goes beyond traditional Super Bowl food staples. They also serve up options like shepherd's pie, fish and chips, and chicken and waffles.
"When you go to a sports bar you're kind of locked into that specific menu, and the beautiful thing about being at home and watching the game on TV is getting to eat the food that you want to eat," Stephens said.
Now, you may have some leftovers that you might want to save. If you do, Stephens offers the following advice: "A box is pretty good, you can plastic wrap it if you want."
