Super Bowl spending a boon for some Sonoma County businesses

The gridiron has been striped. The footballs have been inflated (hopefully) to just the right pressure. The confetti cannons have been loaded.

As NFL officials and football players in Glendale, Ariz., readied for today’s big game, all sorts of other preparations were taking place Saturday across the country and in Sonoma County.

With more than 180 million viewers nationwide expected to tune in to watch the Super Bowl, the day’s festivities, melding sports and entertainment, mean a big boost for a range of businesses, including grocers, take-out restaurants, retailers and even plumbers.

Throughout the day, fans across the country will consume mountains of chips and dip, drink rivers of beer and soda and eat enough pizza to make a pie that would cover Annadel State Park. Seriously.

For employees of Mombo’s Pizza in Santa Rosa, the day is their busiest of the year, and it means they need - and kneaded - much more dough than usual. Workers at the Mendocino Avenue restaurant on Saturday prepped for the Super Bowl rush by making mounds of dough and constructing dozens of cardboard boxes.

Mombo’s is expected to sell 200 pizzas today, which is double its normal Sunday business, said Drew Peletz, the general manager.

“We’re preparing for it to be crazy,” he said. “We need to make sure we have enough dough. You can’t just whip it up. You have to plan ahead.”

Even though the 49ers and the Raiders had disappointing seasons, many in Sonoma County are planning on watching the New England Patriots square off against the Seattle Seahawks on a day that has become an unofficial national holiday of sorts. Local stores are seeing a noticeable bump in sales of party supplies.

At Oliver’s Market on Montecito Boulevard in Santa Rosa, large displays of beer and snacks greeted shoppers looking to stock up for the big game. Mike Martinez, the front end supervisor, said chicken wings, vegetable platters and dip were moving fast.

“We can’t keep tortilla chips on the shelf,” Martinez said. “We’re getting hammered.”

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest days of the year for the store, he said.

“Business definitely increases,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who’s playing, people treat it like a holiday. If a local team is playing, it goes off the hook.”

The average Super Bowl viewer will spend $77.88, up from a high of $68.27 last year, according to the National Retail Federation. With an estimated 184 million viewers nationwide, spending is expected to reach $14.3 billion on everything from game day food and new televisions to athletic wear and decorations.

After the Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the winning team, party hosts begin the cleanup ritual. With toilets and garbage disposals working overtime, plumbers are always in high demand. Super Bowl Sunday is the second busiest day for plumbers after Thanksgiving, according to Mr. Rooter Plumbing.

Raed Hinawi, owner of Best Way Plumbing in Rohnert Park, said large parties lead to expensive plumbing disasters.

“If you have a big gathering, something is bound to go wrong,” he said.

The most common item that Hinawi is asked to fish out of a toilet bowl? Cellphones.

“People don’t want to miss any part of the game, so they take their phones into the bathroom,” he said. “And if they’ve had a little extra to drink, they end up losing things.”

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Brown at 521-5206 or matt.brown@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MattBrownPD.