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Giants-Dodgers Series, Fleet Week Power San Francisco COVID Business Recovery

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- San Francisco was buzzing Friday night as post-season baseball collided with Fleet Week.

Businesses hoped to hit sales out of the park with a big crowd in town.

"We're desperate for business. We're new so it's very important," said Fatima Zimic, the owner of Cancha Gastropub. Zimic just opened Cancha in February and she says there have been numerous ups and downs but this night was definitely an up.

"As you see tonight, house is full, we have people waiting so it's been a great day so far," she added.

You can tell how busy it is by just driving around San Francisco. There was a steady stream of cars on many streets and a lot of people were out walking around, waiting to get into restaurants and bars in the Marina.

"You had to have a seat to get in because there were so many people -- so much capacity and so much energy that people were worried about overages," John Melen, a resident of the city said.

According to the San Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau, this is expected to be the biggest weekend since the pandemic started but still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. CEO Joe D'Alessandro is hopeful.

"We got lots going on in this incredible city so people, I think, are feeing optimistic that we will get back, we will recover. It will take time but we're starting that road," D'Alessandro said.

The optimism is contagious as San Franciscans are seeing their city bounce back.

"It's great to see the city back to life. It's been a while since everyone can be together and it's good to see SF back to where it was," Carly Hayden said.

Another indicator of economic recovery is hotel occupancy. Right now, out of the top 25 cities, San Francisco ranks last.

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