A restaurant and pub owner in Regina is hoping for a repeat of what happened the last time the city hosted the Grey Cup in 2013.

“The hotels were full, everybody was busy, there were people walking around … shopping, stopping by the restaurants, visiting. The city just came alive, it was great,” said Darren Carter, co-owner of Beer Bros. Gastropub.

“What we would generally do for a normal week of business, we did double that week. It was incredible. I wish every week could be Grey Cup week.”

Regina is in the running to host the 2020 Grey Cup, along with Montreal and Hamilton. The CFL is expected to announce the host city for the championship game on Thursday.

Carter, also a board member of Restaurants Canada, recalled having to run longer hours and hire more staff last time around.

He said it was an undertaking that started about four to five months in advance.

“You have to get people up and trained, we have to get people into the restaurant in terms of their knowledge of what we do, our service style, our cuisine style,” Carter said. “It doesn’t happen overnight so you need to make an investment in people.”