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Businesses gear up for Games

Night deliveries begin, anticipation increases

If there is one thing Joey Gibbons is worried about on the eve of the Winter Olympics it is the fear of the unknown.

But the owner of Gibbons Hospitality - which runs the Longhorn Saloon, Tapley's and Buffalo Bills - quickly adds even that fear is nothing new to Whistler businesses.

"Being in Whistler, we are naturally able to adapt from a massive weekend to a slow weekend, just because of weather or American long weekends or Christmas," said Gibbons.

"We get these things all the time where we are as busy as we can possibly be, so we know what to expect. I am not scared of anything at all. I feel we are well prepared."

Gibbons' anticipation of what will unfold in Whistler is shared among almost all business owners in the resort municipality.

Nine days before the opening ceremonies take place in Vancouver, on Feb. 12, businesses throughout Whistler Village are starting to ramp up their service levels and prepare for whatever the Winter Olympics bring with them.

Some business owners are confident, others are anxious. Some believe they are over prepared, while others may be under prepared. Almost everyone, though, is energized to tackle what will come.

"I am very excited," said Wayne Katz, owner of Zog's Dogs, Moguls Coffee House and Gone Bakery. "I have always been excited about getting people here from all over the world.

"Yes, we are human, and we feel the inconveniences of the delays and rerouting and the cops and the politicians and all that, but we are excited for the athletes and the events. I like that stuff. That is why I am in Whistler."

Katz has decorated his restaurants and cafes with flags, and starting on Feb. 12, he plans to have all three locations open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

He has also been able to increase his workforce substantially by hiring some of the young people who recently arrived in town hoping to get work with the Olympic organizing committee.

The Grocery Store in Village Square has also hired a dozen more staff and is preparing to run all hours of the day.

Owner Bob Adams said they have given a number of their staff media training and they have had staff meetings with everyone - from senior management to new hires - to get everyone focused on the Olympics.

They also bought a new truck to help bolster their operations.

"Now we are just waiting, excited in anticipation," said Adams. "We are prepared as we can be with the big unknowns of what is going to happen."

Adams added that on Sunday night they started doing their nighttime deliveries, so they will have 10 days of practice before the Games begin. And so far, the deliveries have been happening without a hitch.

"That should make us very efficient," said Adams, adding that The Grocery Store will have deliveries coming in from its major supplier every day during the Olympics.

Some business owners are over preparing.

For example, the owner of Whistler's candy shop, the Great Glass Elevator, has hired a doorman to keep on eye on her customers. That way, if things get crazy, the doorman can check everyone's receipts on the way out, said Kennedy Raine. She said she got the idea from an American M&M Store.

Raine is especially cognizant that her store sits next to the Whistler Medals Plaza, where thousands of spectators, athletes and officials will gather every night to watch the Olympic medals ceremonies, and she is expecting things to get particularly busy in the evenings.

"We are planning for the worst," said Raine.

"It probably won't be that bad... I think we might be over prepared. I have no idea whether it is going to be as crazy as we think it is."

And a few owners are simply hoping business will start to pick up, since January was slower than usual.

"I can say that up until today, we have been deader than dead," said Nancy MacConnachie of Ingrid's Village Café. "We have been so quiet. It has been a bit disappointing, but I am hoping from now on it is going to ramp up as people come into town."

MacConnachie also spoke cautiously about the nighttime deliveries that her staff has had to learn to navigate this week, saying, "We are just about coping."

Meanwhile, as businesses start go into high gear to meet the challenges of the Olympics, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce is making sure to keep in touch with owners and managers.

Fiona Famulak, president of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, asks businesses questions about their operations every day, and overall what she is hearing is positive.

She added that the chamber office will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day during the Games to support businesses.

"I think the excitement is really starting to build, especially at our employee level because they are now beginning to interact with athletes and coaches and international visitors who are on the ground," said Famulak.

"Many of our businesses are ready to start the Games today, and many of them are taking the next 10 days to fine tune their plans so by Feb. 12, they are ready to go."