Updated 07/30/2010 03:41 PM
Restaurant turns to destination for Jets fans
First they made their name with fried food and now they're looking for a new title. Our Tamara Lindstrom stopped by Doug's Fish Fry where some of the biggest football fans have turned the restaurant into Jets Central.
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CORTLAND, N.Y. -- For the team at Doug's Fish Fry, this may be the happiest time of the year.
"it's like a kid at Christmas time. I truly am. You know, when the Jets come to town, I smile ear to ear," said owner Mark Braun.
"I've been wearing my shirt for a little over a week now, as soon as I heard they were in town," said Mare Netti, long time employee.
It was a dream come true for owner Mark Braun when the Jets packed up and moved their training camp to the SUNY Cortland campus, just a block away.
"I've been a Jets fan, watching the Jets ever since I was a little boy. Now I have a little boy and he's sharing in that same thing," Braun said. "But when I was little, we never got this close to our favorite team."
The restaurant is decked out in green for the impending arrival of the NFL stars.
"We've got our Jets Sundaes back this year," Netti said. "And we've brought back all our Jets memorabilia. And with the new stadium, the owner has some new seats this year so we have a new sign out front saying where we'll be seated in case any of the players want to wave."
Last year's training camp was such a boon for business, Doug's is once again rolling out the green carpet to welcome fans and hopefully even some players.
"We met, briefly, Rex Ryan," Braun said. "Mike Tannenbaum, the general manager, came in quite a few times. And what's neat about it is not only when they come in here, but there's so many stories that our customers share, our employees share."
With the team's success last season, Braun is expecting a surge of fans next week.
"We wanted to build up on that excitement and we want to do it this year, too. We want to have people come and feel comfortable here, we have great food and watch the games or just talk Jets."
Something they're sure to do here in the hub of Jets fanfare.
Jets practice starts Monday. To see the entire schedule, visit www.newyorkjets.com/schedule/training-camp-schedule.html.