Businesses gear up to entertain World Series fans

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Businesses all around North Texas that cater to baseball fans expect a boost from the Texas Rangers in the World Series.

Merchants that sell team gear have been very busy.

Fans who do not have tickets will still want to watch Game 1 Friday and many prefer to do so with other cheering fans.

One very popular place is J. Gilligan’s Bar and Grill on Abram Street in Arlington. It’s been welcoming fans since 1979.

Owner Randy Ford said the World Series will be a tremendous boost for business.

“What we normally work on a Friday, it will be double. Same thing on Saturday. Then, of course, we get a bonus with the Cowboys playing on Sunday. So, it will be a great weekend,” Ford said.

Tents were ready outside to help protect the crowd from a forecast for rain. Ford said there may be 600 guests Friday night.

“We’ve got a new canopy outside, and with the new canopy and tents, we’ll be able to comfortably keep 400 to 500 people dry,” he said.

Other Arlington businesses were also gearing up for a World Series surge of happy fans.

On the popular patio at the Tipsy Oak on Front Street Friday afternoon, customers said they were not letting a forecast for rain dampen their spirits.

“I think the fans won’t care about a little water. We’ve been waiting for this a long time so we’ll be here,” customer Dennis Jeffares said.

The Tipsy Oak has roll-down protection for the porch around the building in case of rain for World Series Game 1.

“It’s so exciting, so exciting. It’s not since 2011 so we’re all ready for it,” fan Elyssa Jeffares said.

At the Grease Monkey Burger Shop on Mesquite Street in Arlington, lunchtime customer Rachel Stamps said everyone at her doctor’s appointment Friday morning was fired up about the Rangers.

“Even the patients were wearing Ranger gear. All I heard all around me, they were all talking about the Rangers,” she said.

She and her husband James do not have tickets for the game. They said many fans will want to watch it at places like the Grease Monkey.

“We’re expecting big crowds, same thing like 2011. We were packed throughout the whole thing. So, I expect more of the same. With a better finish, getting the job done this time,” Grease Monkey co-owner Paul Checkeye said.

Back at Gilligan’s, Rangers fans Bruce and Todd Laney and their mom Joann Laney had a family reunion lunch on this World Series Game 1 day. They have been visiting Gilligan’s since it opened in 1979.  But Bruce Laney said the entire family has been Rangers fans even longer.

“We were at the first Rangers game in 1972 and we’ve been to every new stadium opening,” Bruce Laney said.

This time they want to see a World Series Championship.

“We hope to take home the ring is what we hope. It’s been a long wait man,” Todd Laney said.

J. Gilligan’s also offers $15 shuttle rides to the game with free parking in the Downtown Arlington neighborhood.

A 7-game World Series would mean two more home games at the end for local businesses. But all the fans and business people said they just hompe to see a Rangers Championship, no matter how many games it takes.

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