Bar owners in downtown Milwaukee hope for huge crowds Saturday

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Many in Wisconsin will be celebrating on Saturday night, April 5th as the Wisconsin Badgers face Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four. Bars and restaurants in the Milwaukee area are getting ready for what they hope is a busy and exciting night!

On Friday night in downtown Milwaukee -- it was sort of "the calm before the storm." On Saturday night, however, it will likely be another story -- as bars and restaurants in downtown Milwaukee are expecting huge crowds to cheer the Badgers to victory.

"It's pretty electric. People are excited. There's no down time. It's full blast. The full day we're open. It's just people, people, people -- smiling the whole time, making sure everyone is having a great experience," Loaded Slate's owner, Joseph Kuntz said.

Kuntz says he's expecting 1,200 to 1,500 people to come through his bar on Saturday.

"Looking at doing 250-300 Bloody Mary's," Kuntz said.

The bar is set to host a full day of Bloody Mary's and basketball.

"You're dealing with people non-stop, open to close, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.," Kuntz said.

Just down the street, staff at Who's On Third pub are gearing up for big crowds as well.

"Badgers fans are everywhere. There's no rest time. No one's taking breaks or anything like that," Who's On Third's General Manager Michael Pierce said.

Pierce says he's hoping for large crowds.

"I'm hoping that you can't move in here all the way through the game and everyone's celebrating a victory and resting up Sunday and getting ready for Monday to do it all again," Pierce said.

Saturday will also be a big night for pizza businesses.

"A lot of people do a lot of parties so we'll do a lot of to-go business too," Frank Lococo, the manager at Zaffiro's Pizza said.

Business nearly doubles at Zaffiro's Pizza during a big sporting event.

"There's always more excitement involved with the customers and the fan base," Lococo said.

Many of the business owners FOX6 News spoke with say they're hoping for a Badgers victory -- hoping they'll see even more business if the Badgers make it to the championship game.

Tipoff Saturday is set for 7:49 p.m.