Amid the uncertainty the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has presented, for much of the spring and summer, it seemed that both being able to gather in bars — or anywhere — to watch football games might not be part of the American experience this fall.

Fortunately, as cases have slowed and federal and state regulations have eased, sports bars in Grand Junction are open for business and the NFL has begun its season.

Sports bars and restaurants like Roosters near downtown or Wrigley Field on North Avenue have benefited from the NFL’s return, as well as, to a lesser extent, college football’s return.

Roosters, a sports bar and restaurant off Grand Avenue, has seen an increase in business, while maintaining state regulations for social distancing and masks. Customers had already been returning since the shutdown, but the pro football season has sent business into another gear in its recovery efforts.

“We had a really big weekend last weekend with football starting,” said Roosters manager Kelsey Woodmansee. “With everything happening, we’ve definitely seen a downfall in sales and people coming in, but I think with football starting, that’s probably the televised thing we’ve seen the most people coming in for… We’ve seen a really big influx in the past week since that started.”

Throughout the week, much of Roosters’ sales come from to-go orders. On the weekends, and especially Sundays, though, the bar sees a surge in patronage.

July saw the return of professional sports such as the NBA and NHL, with the MLB starting play in August. None of those sports have dictated televisions at Roosters nearly as much as football has since its arrival.

The first NFL Sunday of the season saw a line out of the door before the bar opened, causing Woodmansee to feel nervous. However, Roosters was able to accommodate its demand safely.

“People correlate wings and football,” Woodmansee said. “I feel like that’s always been a thing, and obviously, we’re a wing place, so they’re like, ‘Hey, let’s get wings and watch football.’ ”

When the Denver Broncos play, sports bars in the area are at their busiest.

However, there’s another team whose supporters have consistently supported Roosters since last season and have continued showing up in force through two games this season: the Cleveland Browns.

“We have this big group of Browns fans; there’s like 30 people that come in every single Sunday,” Woodmansee said. “We’re their spot. They just started it last year. We always have them. We also have the NFL package.”