Dharm Makwana

T he Olympic boom is a bit of a bust for some retailers in the entertainment district.

Katie Neilson, floor manager of skateboard shop Underground on Granville Street, said she's tempered her expectations for sales after examining the books from the first week of the Games.

"We were told thousands of people are going to be coming in and it'll be crazy," Neilson said. "It's not that it hasn't been good but it's definitely not what we were expecting with an influx of shoppers. It's almost like business as usual."

Restaurants are apparently raking in the cash from hungry revellers who have crowded Robson Square and spilled into surrounding streets over the first six days of the Games.

Dougieluv, a hotdog enthusiast who opened dougiedogs 17 days ago on the same block as Underground, opens his restaurant for the lunch rush and closes at 4 a.m. because of demand.

"We knew the Olympics were going to have an impact on us but we didn't know it was going to have this kind of impact," Dougieluv said. "Business has been unbelievable. There are thousands of people going by everyday. There's a great mood. They're just buying, eating, cheering and having a lot of fun."

Businesses in nearby neighbourhoods are finding similar trends in the early days of the Olympics.

Meghan Yorston, assistant manager of men's clothier Lloyd's of Gastown, thought she'd see more foot traffic because her store is nestled between shops selling typical tourist wares.

Instead, it's her regulars who keep showing up instead of unfamiliar faces.

"I just expected a huge increase in traffic but that hasn't happened yet," Yorston said. "During tourist high-season we definitely see a huge increase in traffic."

Both Yorston and Neilson suspect tourists will start shopping once they've finished seeing the sites. However, neither knows if or when the throngs of shoppers will arrive.

"To be honest I don't know what else to expect," Neilson said.