Arlington estimates $160 million of economic impact from the FIFA World Cup so far

At J. Gilligan's Bar & Grill in Arlington, the deep fryer isn't the only thing sizzling. Business is, too, thanks to the FIFA World Cup, according to owner Randy Ford.

Since starting the business in 1979, Ford said he has never has sales like they have been with the massive global sporting event in town. 

"It's put us on the map. It's just been great, and like four to five times more than our normal sales," Ford said.

In addition to the ice cold drinks and hot, juicy burgers, J. Gilligan's is even offering a shuttle service from the restaurant, helping more than 1,300 fans get to Dallas Stadium over the first eight matches.

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said J. Gilligan's is not alone.

"All of the word I'm getting is the vast majority of them are feeling the boost and revenue from the World Cup matches with people eating at restaurants and shopping at stores," he said.

Hotels are also benefitting; Ross said hotel revenue in the city was a record $31 million in June, smashing the previous mark of $23 million. Official figures on restaurant sales will be released at a later date.

In total, Arlington Convention and Visitors President Brent DeRaad told CBS News Texas that the economic impact for each of the first eight matches has been in the range of $18 million to $24 million.

Not all local businesses have shared in the economic benefit, however. Kennedy Hopkins, a barista at Daydream Bookstore Cafe in Downtown Arlington, said sales have gone down since the FIFA World Cup started. 

"We haven't really gotten the traffic that they were hyping us up for," Hopkins said. "I think a lot of people were scared of what the roads were going to be like because of the World Cup."

Ross said that he hopes the international attention on Arlington will pay dividends for years to come, despite not all places seeing a boost in business.

"The impact of the World Cup isn't just a 30-day period where we have nine matches being played here in Arlington. The impact extends well beyond that because we have an opportunity with the World Cup to develop tremendous relationships," Ross said.