Granville Street pedestrian zone drives World Cup sales surge in Vancouver
Granville Street’s car-free World Cup zone pushed bar and restaurant sales up 20 to 40 per cent, but staff had to add shifts, stock and 200 kegs to keep up.
The World Cup crowds spilling onto Granville Street gave Vancouver bars and restaurants an immediate sales jolt, but the bigger story on the floor was how fast operators had to scramble to keep up. Dublin Calling manager Tyler Broers said he had never seen anything like the opening weekend crowd, and the bar nearly ran dry before he rushed out an order for 200 kegs and brought in extra staff.
That surge was helped by the city’s new five-block pedestrian zone, a car-free stretch from West Georgia Street to Davie Street that opened June 12 and is set to run through July 19 while Vancouver hosts seven FIFA World Cup 2026 matches. The City of Vancouver said it was backing the strip with additional seating, sanitation services and other infrastructure, while Downtown Van handled programming and activations. Mayor Ken Sim called Granville Street Vancouver’s largest pedestrian zone, and Downtown Van president and CEO Jane Talbot called it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
For restaurant and bar workers, the upside is obvious when the room is full: more checks, more hours and more pressure to keep service moving. On Granville Street, business was reported up 20 to 40 per cent during the tournament opening period, a jump that can translate into bigger tip pools and heavier section counts if operators staff correctly. Broers said he hired extra staff ahead of the tournament, a reminder that the sales bump comes with real labor costs on the floor, not just in the books.
Other operators spent months getting ready for the traffic. Mahony’s Tavern owner Pete Mahony said he planned to open early so the pub could show all FIFA World Cup matches, including 9 a.m. starts. Glowbal Group owner Emad Yacoub said his company spent about $100,000 on televisions so customers could watch the games in its restaurants. Near BC Place, owners also warned that the crowd would not hit every business the same way, with restaurants east of the stadium expecting more ticket-holder traffic and places on the west side facing more uncertainty around security and crowd flow.
The pedestrian-only setup appears to have helped the street itself as much as the bars on it. Some operators said the closure made Granville feel cleaner and safer, and better suited to fan traffic. Whether that becomes lasting business for cooks, servers and bartenders, though, will depend on how much of this surge turns into steady hours after the seven-match run is over.
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