Brewers parade kicks off Friday morning in downtown Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Brewers championship parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 30. The route will travel through downtown Milwaukee and conclude at Henry Maier Festival Park, which is the site of the Summerfest grounds.

Local businesses are positioning themselves to serve the expected crowd. Ian's Pizza, located on Bluemound Road, has prepared for the event for nearly a week. Ryan Donovan, the managing partner at Ian's Pizza, said the team had prepared supplies in case the series went to a sixth game. They then shifted those resources to the rally party once the outcome was confirmed.

Donovan noted that the company received a vague offer for work last week, which led them to suspect a major event was coming. "We kind of got the call, we knew something was happening a week ago, it was very mysterious. but we kind of put two and two together," Donovan said. The late-night atmosphere on Bluemound Road on Wednesday felt similar to downtown until 2 a.m., according to Donovan.

The economic impact of the World Series has been measurable across the region. Fiserv reported that spending across all industries rose 12% year over year during the first weekend of the series. Game days saw the highest increases in sales. Revenue rose 35% on Friday for Game 1 and 44% on Saturday for Game 2.

The hospitality sector saw substantial gains. Restaurant sales increased by 29%, while bar sales rose 28% on Saturday compared to the average of the previous five weeks. Donovan expects Friday's event to draw a larger crowd than a typical busy day at Summerfest.

For small business owners, the event represents a rare opportunity. Donovan described the experience as a "moonshot" for a restaurant his size. He stated that participating in the Brewers' victory feels more impactful for a business owner than for a fan.

The parade will end at the festival park, where vendors like Ian's Pizza will operate inside the grounds. The company is ready to serve the fans heading to the celebration.