Local Restaurants Suffer Due to NHL Lockout

Wednesday would have been the Minnesota Wild's first preseason game of the year at Xcel Energy Center. But the NHL lockout isn't just keeping the hockey players away from work, it's also impacting hundreds of people in the hospitality business.

Popular fan hangout The Liffey is just across the street from the Xcel Energy Center, and the owner says they will almost certainly have to lay people off if the lockout doesn't end soon.

Wednesday night they only staffed about a quarter of the people they normally do.

"Every restaurant around every NHL arena is feeling the same thing we are," said general manager Jay Johnson.

Server Cassie Nielsen has already had her hours cut in half, and she's worried about losing her job all together.

"It's no fault of my business owners, it's no fault of mine, it's no fault of my fellow employees," said Nielsen. "It's just we've been dealt a really bad hand, and I don't know the NHL really realizes the effect that this has on all the small people."

It's estimated that each Wild home game brings about $1 million into downtown St. Paul.

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