East Coast Restaurant Owners Breathe Sigh of Relief as Mexico Soccer Plays Between Meals

Boston, MA--Harry McNulty sported a broad smile as he sat at the bar holding a frosted glass of Samuel Adams Summer Ale. The owner of Tullimore's Grill, a neighborhood gastropub only three blocks from the Boston Common, was seated next to Carlos Gutierrez, 21, a cook at the restaurant since coming the United States nearly two years ago.

McNulty was also joined on the unusually high stools by other members of the kitchen staff including Edgar Humberto, Hugo Martin, Justino Hernandez and Jesus Mercedes, all hailing from, like Gutierrez, the Mexican state of Puebla. The men were staring at the high definition flat screen television mounted above the bar with sweating bottles of untouched, lime-capped Coronas standing before them.

"We were freaking out a little," said Marcus O'Leary, a bartender originally from Cork, Ireland. "We didn't know who would be coming in today."

The bartender's--and the owner's--concern was based on what was being shown on the perfectly clear image beaming from the elevated screen. Two soccer powerhouses, Mexico and Argentina, were squaring off in a round of 16 World Cup game at 2:30 PM ET.

"When the schedule came out," said McNulty, standing with one arm around an uncomfortable Gutierrez, "I was pretty relieved that Mexico's game fell between lunch and dinner. Wasn't I Carl? I mean, we draw a pretty good crowd on Sundays. Carl loves soccer."

Just about all of the kitchen staff outright confessed that the game would come first and, had the match been played during a busy meal time, would unfortunately be "sick around a yet to be determined time." McNulty, in appreciation of the staff''s hard work and commitment, treated the workers to an open bar and an all-you-can-eat lunch with front row seats at the bar to watch their beloved El Tri --Mexico's national soccer team.

"I would have come in," laughed Mercedes, as his coworkers razzed him for kissing up to the boss, who was within earshot. "No, I really would have. Mexico always disappoints in the Copa Mundial [World Cup]."

Apparently, many restaurants up and down the east coast imitated McNulty's gesture and invited staff to watch the game on the establishments' televisions or brought in tv's if none were on site.

Other cities, particularly in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, reported virtual shutdowns of the restaurant industry, as the game started at 12:30 PM and 11:30 AM, respectively.

The Denver metro area may have been the hardest hit where it was estimated that over 5,000 restaurant employees called in "sick" just before the opening tap. Phoenix and Los Angeles each estimated the number of absent workers was close to 3,000. Even Chicago, located in the Central time zone, where the game started at 1:30 PM, experienced the effects of the soccer-mad nation to the south.

As the game was winding down, Argentina was well in command holding a 3-1 lead over Mexico. Mercedes, still seated at the lightly crowded Tullimore bar alongside his countrymen, reached over and tapped a slouching Martin on the shoulder. "See, they always disappoint. But hold your head high my friend because it's only four more years until they disappoint again."

At the conclusion of the game, McNulty jumped from his stool, clapped and yelled loudly, indicating "fun time" was over, cleared away the workers unfinished food and drinks and quickly shuffled the sullen workers back into the kitchen. "Thank heaven," said an elated McNulty, now seated at the bar by himself sipping a pint of Guinness. "I don't have to see or talk to those guys, or watch soccer, for four more years."