With over two million expected visitors to Vancouver during the 2010 Olympic Games, one would think that local businesses would be seeing a dramatic jump in sales. However, this is not the case for some shop owners.

Amad Dhanoya, Manager at the Blenz Coffee and Tea in the new Wesbrook Village on 16th and Wesbrook, told The Ubyssey that in anticipation for the Olympics, he had hired one more person, just in case, and stocked up. But his store has not experienced much change in sales and instead, saw a decrease in the number of customers during the Olympics.

“There is a venue here, but there is no bus stop here, so there’s not as many people,” Dhanoya said. Since the beginning of February, all buses have been rerouted away from the roundabout at 16th and Wesbrook. Security checkpoints in the area have diverted much traffic from the area as well.

VANOC has also contributed to hurting business, said Dhanoya, as the Olympic Organizing Committee has disallowed Dhanoya from putting up his signs during the Games. Without signs, he says that it’s tough for people driving by to know that his store exists. “[It] just looks like a construction site,” he said. He thinks the restriction is because the roundabout at 16th and Wesbrook is so close to the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre.

Mario’s Gelati at 88 East 1st Avenue has also seen a significant drop in sales since the Olympics have come to Vancouver, according to The Georgia Straight. The store has had to deal with large fences, cement barricades, and a barrage of security personel constantly diverting traffic and the public away.

“I feel like a prisoner in my own home,” Mario Loscerbo, the shop’s owner, told the Straight. He has threatened to sue the City of Vancouver and VANOC over the extreme drop in business.

On the other hand, Mahoney & Sons at UBC has felt a positive influence on business. Manager Graeme Moore said that it really started the night that the torch ran through campus, as the path it took could be seen from inside the bar, as well as the patio seating lining the front sidewalk.

“It was really the only place you could grab a drink and watch [the torch],” he said. Since then, the bar has benefited from crowds coming to and from Games. “We’re busy mostly post-game, and mostly after the 12 and 2:30 games,” Moore said. Since then, co-owner Paddy Mahoney said that business is up 50 per cent these two weeks.

Unlike Blenz, Mahoney’s signs scattered around the corners of their intersection are still up, notifying Olympic spectators that a cold brew is only “50 meters away.”

As more students return to campus in the coming days, however, both establishments expect to return to steadier sales and busier tables.

Dhanoya is also hopeful for the next few weeks as he thinks that the increase in games at UBC during the Paralympics will bring in more people.

Moore thinks Mahoney’s will continue to stay busy, as the bar has been at capacity for every Canadian hockey game to date.

“UBC is sort of a tourist destination, so when people are finished Downtown, they’ll want to come and see campus,” he said.