HILLTOP CARRY OUT
    Many win if Ravens do
    Victories on field mean area businesses cash in as celebratory fans are more willing to spend
    By Stacey Hirsh
    Sun Reporter

    December 9, 2006

    A win for the Ravens is a win for John Giorgakis - and there have been many wins this season.

    The owner of the Hilltop Carry Out pizzeria and Skybox Bar and Grill in South Baltimore, Giorgakis has seen his
    restaurants much busier on game days this season than in seasons past. He has had to bring in an extra cook
    to handle the pre-game and post-game rushes at the pizzeria, and he has noticed that the crowds have been
    lingering longer at his bar on game days.

    "When the local team wins, people stay behind, people drink more, they have a good time," Giorgakis said.
    "When the team loses, they're actually out of the bar way before the game finishes."

    With their best start ever, the Ravens are generating playoff fever, and some area businesses are cashing in.
    Grocery stores, restaurants, electronics stores and others around the region say they've seen an uptick in
    business from fans who are more willing to spend when they have a winning team to cheer for.

    Sporting stores are selling more hats and jerseys. Sports bars are staying busier longer on game days, and
    party platters have been a hot seller at supermarkets. Media companies are getting a lift. Even the Maryland
    Lottery is selling more tickets.

    Denise Gendimenico can feel the difference in her tips. A waitress at the Silver Spring Mining Company in Perry
    Hall, which offers discount food and drinks during all Ravens and Terps games, Gendimenico has noticed that a
    winning home team makes for a happier customer.

    "They're pumped up and they're a little bit more willing to spend money and stay longer," she said. "It definitely
    makes a difference."

    "The bars have been absolutely packed," said Keith Kujawa, general manager for the Silver Spring Mining
    Company restaurants in Perry Hall, Bel Air and Hunt Valley. "They're usually pretty busy, we have a pretty good
    fan club, but a lot of the fair-weather fans, they're all coming out. ... We're getting new faces."

    All the fans have been enough for Domino's to hire extra workers for game days. Kris Schutz, corporate regional
    manager for Domino's in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, said he has hired two extra employees at each of
    the eight local stores he manages to handle the football rush. And sales go up about 20 percent during game
    time, an increase reminiscent of the Ravens' Super Bowl season, he said.

    Eddie's of Roland Park stocks shelves at its two stores with wings and veggie and cheese trays on game days.
    Employees put out plenty of crab dip, take orders for super-size subs and dole out advice on how to make chili
    with beef from the butcher counter, said Jo Alexander, communications director for the supermarkets, one on
    Roland Avenue in North Baltimore and one on North Charles Street in Baltimore County.

    This year, the stores have been especially busy.

    "This is a football town, and we watch football regardless, and I know that Ravens fans are fans regardless, but
    there's something about a winning season that puts people in a more celebratory mood and they eat and party
    more," Alexander said.

    Giant Food supermarkets also sell more party platters during the football season, especially in cities where the
    local team is winning and more customers are hosting parties, said spokesman Barry Scher.

    If Baltimore hosts a playoff game, it'll be a win for the entire city, said Richard Clinch, director of economics for
    the Maryland Business Research Partnership, a University of Baltimore think tank. Fans will be coming into the
    city to spend money at its bars, restaurants and hotels, he said.

    "Every playoff game's a sellout; there's no such thing as an empty playoff game," Clinch said. "You're going to
    have 50,000 people descending on the city to spend money."

    Sports economists caution that it's more a matter of some businesses reaping the benefits than an overall
    economic boost. That's because fans are spending money on Ravens-related activities instead of on something
    else, such as going to a movie.

    Media outlets are among the winners. After the Ravens win a game on Sunday, street sales of The Sun spike 10
    percent to 20 percent the following Monday, when the paper runs a Gameday section, said Louis Maranto, vice
    president of circulation for The Sun.

    WBAL and 98 Rock radio, broadcast home of the Ravens, are seeing increased advertising sales, said Ed
    Kiernan, vice president and general manager for the stations. Kiernan said he believes the number of listeners
    has gone up - increases he attributes to the benefits of teaming up with winners.

    Ratings during Ravens games on WJZ-TV have improved almost steadily since the beginning of the football
    season, said Jay Newman, vice president and general manager of WJZ-TV and WJZ.com. That increase comes
    after a gradual decline in ratings that began after the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl, Newman said.

    Viewership for games is up 44 percent from the corresponding time last year, while viewership of post-game
    shows has doubled, Newman said. Ad rates during Ravens' games have gone up about 10 percent as more
    businesses seek to showcase their products during the games of a winning team.

    "The interest is high, and the closer we get to postseason, the interest is even higher," Newman said.

    The Maryland Lotto has never been busier at its booth in Ravens stadium. Lotto ticket sales at the booth have
    increased every week, said Buddy W. Roogow, director of the Maryland Lottery. The agency, which has a
    Ravens sponsorship deal for its spot at the stadium, also attributes a boost in overall lotto ticket sales to Ravens
    wins.

    "There are more people watching the games on television and listening on the radio than ever before," Roogow
    said, adding that the local fans are the noisiest and most enthusiastic they've been since the Ravens made it to
    the Super Bowl in 2001. "All those things combine to give us more visibility, more promotional activity and
    eventually more sales."

    The Sport Shop stores in Harborplace and Towson Town Center - which sell Ravens jerseys, jackets, hats and
    souvenirs such as Ravens barbecue sets - have seen sales go up 25 percent this football season compared
    with last year's season, said owner Mike Durham.

    "Business is not up that much very often unless something changes it," Durham said. "It makes a big difference
    if the Ravens are playing well."

    Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the National Football League, said fans feel a psychological lift when their
    team does well. It puts them in a better mood, and they want to spend money on team merchandise and
    elsewhere. The NFL sees increased sales of licensed merchandise for winning teams, McCarthy said, though he
    declined to provide specific sales figures.

    January is also a marquee time for sales of large-screen or high-definition TVs, McCarthy said.

    That has been the case at Best Buy in Timonium, where customers have been much more enthusiastic about
    the Ravens than in years past, said Scott Tavegia, the store's customer-experience manager. With the falling
    prices of television sets, the increase in available high-definition content and the Ravens' winning season, "it's
    kind of the perfect storm for us," Tavegia said.

    Giorgakis, the owner of Hilltop Carry Out pizzeria, is hoping things get even more perfect. Before the Ravens'
    last game, employee Popi Halkias started prepping the pizza earlier than usual and made an extra batch of
    dough in anticipation of game-night crowds.

    Sales at the pizzeria are about 35 percent above normal on game days, and in 2001 they were even higher on
    one particular day that Giorgakis would like to repeat.

    "I want another Super Bowl day," he said.
Arts/Life > restaurants & food
Taste
Philly fixings
Takeout
By Sam Sessa
Sun reporter
Originally published April 26, 2006




We found it hard to get a real Philadelphia-style
cheese steak in this city. Some carryouts we tried
wanted to pile tomatoes, mayonnaise, lettuce and
peppers on a roll, more like a cheese-steak hoagie. All
the fixings you need are cheese, chopped meat,
grease and possibly fried onions. Then you take it
home and add as much pepper and ketchup as you
want. We asked these four places to skip the extra
toppings.


    >>>Hilltop Pizza and Subs
600 E. Fort Ave., Baltimore // 410-752-1971
Hours // 10 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 10 a.m.
-3 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays

In and out in // 6 minutes

With its lightly fried onions, melted cheese, peppery
meat and warm roll, this half cheese steak, $5.41,
tasted the closest to Philly-style of the four. Don't be
turned off by the name - a half cheese steak is a meal
for one. It could have used more cheese, but that was
our only quibble.
Hilltop Carry Out User Reviews
Return to Profile
What users are saying
Prompt seating: yes Make reservations: no Write a
review and share your thoughts with other users.

awesome
Posted by kcbuchal on 07/26/2005
order anything its all great. pizza especially, gyros,
cheese steaks

Overall user rating: Highly Recommended
Hilltop Rules
Posted by abyss on 01/17/2005
Simply the BEST!!! The cleanest place with the
cleanest kitchen, the absolute best pizza you will ever
EVER ever have, the gyros, and the cheesesteaks are
awesome too. Give it a try and I know you will be
hooked.

Pros: Cleanliness, Best Pizza, Gyros and Cheesesteak
Overall user rating: Highly Recommended