Rhein Haus Among The Restaurants Eager To Welcome More Crowds Of Hockey Fans To Downtown Denver

(CBS4) - As the Colorado Avalanche continue to chase the Stanley Cup, downtown Denver is abuzz with excitement. Thousands of fans are expected to head to more watch parties, and restaurants and bars are also eager to welcome back crowds of customers this weekend.

"The past couple of years have been tough for us and anybody in the industry," explained Francisco Peredia, the general manager of Rhein Haus. "And what great timing for this to happen right now and I feel like it's going to be a certain amount of energy."

Down the street from Ball Arena and the official watch party for Game 2 at the Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus, Peredia is preparing for a lot of foot traffic and a watch party at his restaurant as well.

"We'll have the projector down, sound up, over 30 TVs," he said, excitedly. "You know, just go along with the buzz outside and hopefully bring that buzz indoors as well."

Like many restaurants downtown, Rhein Haus will have game day specials for fans who come out to watch the game.

"$5 house made pretzels, $5 Breck brews, $5 shots of Tin Cup," he said, to list a few.

As an Avs fan himself, Peredia said it has been a long time coming for the Avalanche to get back to the Stanley Cup Final, and it's a huge opportunity for businesses like his.

"People are going to be back out, they already are, and this just builds off that and keep us moving in the right direction," he said. "Hopefully our neighbors are full, too, and we just have an exciting block."