As the Denver Broncos were trouncing the Atlanta Falcons Sunday evening, some area businesses were scrambling to keep up with Ames residents’ appetites while others waited to empty chairs and small register receipts.

Pizza delivery restaurants were greatly affected by the most-watched football game of the year.

Steve Huebner, franchise owner of Domino’s Pizza, 118 Hayward Ave., said the store was twice as busy as usual, which meant staffing about twice as many people and hiring back old employees to fill the void.

Huebner said Domino’s encouraged customers to place orders in advance to ensure on-time delivery. Even with the bustle, he said deliveries only ran 10-15 minutes behind schedule.

Customers placed 400 advance orders prior to the game, and between the hours of 4-7 p.m., Domino’s sold more than 900 pizzas, he said.

Dave Newton, shift manager at Papa John’s Pizza, 3335 Lincoln Way, also noticed a drastic sales increase.

Netwon said Sundays are usually the store’s busiest day on a normal week, and with the addition of the Super Bowl sales, record sales were achieved.

“We could have had everyone here and still have been behind,” Newton said. “We used as many drivers as possible.”

He said between the hours of 5-7 p.m., employees made 310 pizzas per hour and had six phone lines on hold for a 45-minute period of time.

Retailers also cashed in on the profits.

Rich Parizek, co-manager of the Keg Shop, 218 Welch Ave., said business was about 5 or 6 times greater than on a typical day. To help curb long lines and empty shelves, the store also extended its hours and added extra help.

“We made a conscious effort to order heavy,” he said.

Monte Streit, store director of the 21st Century Hy-Vee, 640 Lincoln Way, said his store concentrated on providing ready-to-go products such chicken wings, relish trays and submarine sandwiches to appease hurried football fans.

Since many people tend to hold parties at their residence, businesses such as bars and dine-in restaurants find it hard to capture business during the Super Bowl.

“It was dead,” said Mike Phipps, barkeeper for Cy’s Roost and Don’s Deli, 121 Welch Ave.