Kamloops restaurants reap the rewards of Memorial Cup

KAMLOOPS — With the Memorial Cup now in the rearview mirror, businesses throughout the community are settling back down from a wild 10 days of sales. Restaurants and bars did especially well during the tournament, with patrons flooding into Kamloops from across Canada and the United States to watch their favourite teams compete for the cup.

While hockey fans flocked to Kamloops to watch the games on the ice, its was businesses throughout the community like Moxies that were reaping the rewards of the influx of visitors to the tournament capital.

“I think it was really exciting. As much as you anticipate it, you never really know until everybody gets here and gets into town what it’s really going to be like. It was really exciting. There was a ton of stuff going on in our area. There were a lot of people,” said Jimi Turner, General Manager of Moxies Kamloops.

With just one game per day on the ice, fans had plenty of time to enjoy the city, and check out things like the Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit in town, or visit a local eatery or bar.

“We really did feel a lot of pressure to try and make sure that we showcased Kamloops as a city, our hospitality, our weather, our scenery. I think the feedback we got from everybody who joined us was they couldn’t believe how beautiful Kamloops was. They couldn’t believe how great our setup was, they couldn’t believe how great a host we were for this year’s Memorial Cup,” added Turner

While Turner heard nothing but rave reviews of Kamloops from all those who stopped by, he’s also hopeful that those watching on TV may have been inspired to come visit.

“I really think they did a really good job highlighting how beautiful Kamloops is. Where a lot of people look at us as one little spot in the Interior of B.C., a community of 100,000 people and now people across the country are seeing how beautiful this city is that we get to live in everyday,” said Turner.