DENVER -- It's been months since the Colorado Convention Center welcomed large events into its space.
The Colorado Crossroads Volleyball tournament was the first to be canceled due to the pandemic last year, and this year, it's the first to return.
Not only is the volleyball tournament helping the convention center rebound, it's also helping nearby businesses get shoppers and diners inside.
Among those is Mt. Everest Imports, a local shop on the 16th Street Mall.
Shyam Shrestha is the owner of the shop, and said this past year was tough for him. Most of his clientele were those visiting the convention center for different events.
"Before COVID-19 there was very good business, very good traffic coming from the convention center, because the whole summer time, almost every day, there was something going on," he said. "After COVID-19, everything went down because the convention center slowed down."
Shrestha told Denver7 on Friday, when the volleyball tournament started he had a larger amount of shoppers stop in.
"Our business was very good," he said.
It was a similar experience over at Las Margaritas, a restaurant along the popular street.
Luis Canchoi, the manager, said the restaurant opened during the pandemic, and although it had seen some rushes here and there, Friday gave he and his staff a good look at what possibly could be coming.
"You were really able to tell the difference from the past days, because there were so many people walking. So many volleyball girls, so many people from the convention center," said Canchoi.
He added the business the restaurant got from the convention center was different because it was large groups.
"We had a lot of parties here, lots of large parties, families gathering up," he said. "We did have to split them up at different tables, but they did all come together."
Because they got more business than they anticipated on Friday, Canchoi told Denver7 he decided to call in more staff for Saturday shifts.
"We ended up having to bring in more staff today just so we could make sure we got everything taken care of," he said.
Although it's different from what they've seen the past year, Canchoi said it's a welcome change.
"Everybody seems to be ready for it," he said.