Baseball season brings boom to Navy Yard businesses

As Nationals fans celebrate the start of another baseball season, the streets of Navy Yard have already seen an increase in foot traffic.

For nearby businesses, the boost is good for more than just atmosphere — it brings a financial win as well.

Bluejacket, a nearby restaurant and brewery, saw a 50% increase in sales opening weekend.

“Baseball is always a big influx for us,” Bluejacket general manager David Delaplaine said. “This year has certainly been even moreso, I’d say so far. … Between it being the Phillies for the home opener and it just being beautiful weather, cherry blossoms, all that, it was a bit busier.”

That 50% increase, however, tends to be the peak for Bluejacket. Delaplaine said the restaurant expects a consistent 10 to 20% increase in sales on game days throughout the season.

All-Purpose Pizzeria, another Navy Yard game day spot, has also seen the benefits of baseball’s return.

“It’s been fantastic,” All-Purpose Pizzeria general manager Leon Kent said. “… It was overnight. The streets were packed.”

The Nationals are averaging nearly 32,000 fans per game so far this season. Local restaurants have prepared accordingly. 

“If you know what you need by certain dates, just kind of hitting those markers as it comes closer and closer to the date, theoretically by Thursday, or opening day, you are ready to go,” Kent said.

Still, some fans prefer to eat inside the stadium.

“I like going inside the stadium and [mingling] around on the inside,” Nationals fan Godfrey Williams said. “I was just deciding on what we [were] going to have for dinner here.”

The Nationals’ next home game is set for April 22 at 6:45 p.m. against the Baltimore Orioles.

“It’s a beautiful day, and I’m glad that baseball season started back,” Williams said.