LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – With the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix just months away, some businesses are taking proactive measures after they lost out on thousands of dollars during last year’s race.
As eyes were on the fast cars zooming through the strip last year, business owners had their eyes on the door.
“It was like the slowest week since we opened the doors 20 years ago,” John Simmons, the owner of FireFly and Tacos and Beer said.
His restaurants are near Flamingo and Paradise, just outside the Strip corridor.
“I worked my whole life to get here,” Simmons said. “The people visiting for the race they are trapped.”
Though the race perimeter is just a portion of the strip, many businesses like FireFly were cut off from traffic as roads were closed off, which meant there were hardly any customers.
This year Simmons is considering closing during race weekend or having a skeleton crew.
He tells FOX5 the disruptions in the roads cost him up to $90,000 that weekend.
Not too far away, a new night life lounge and restaurant called Bramare were shook with what they saw last year as they were building the establishment.
“Right outside it was a desert,” Constantin Alexander, the managing partner said.
Being a new business, they are in a tough spot.
“I never thought in a million years I would have to consider closing a restaurant because of an event in las Vegas,” Alexander said.
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