Businesses in Somerset are gearing up for Cup Match, with the West End set to host the midsummer classic this year.

With everyone feeling the festive spirit, some companies are preparing early for the rush on the August 2 and 3 public holiday.

Donald Hassell, owner of the Somerset Country Squire restaurant and pub, said the eatery will be open for the holiday.

“We are open for Cup Match and doing breakfast and lunch on the first day of Cup Match, because a lot of boats come on the bay,” Mr Hassell said.

“We will also be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday and breakfast and lunch on the Sunday.

“The boats are all going to be rafting up, so a lot of people come out.”

Mr Hassell was born and raised in Somerset and will be cheering on the home team. “Jordan DeSilva is my cousin and his brother, Tyler, works for me as a bartender here. I have never left Somerset for 56 years,” he added.

Another local business, Misty’s Take Out, which has been in business for more than 20 years, is also red and blue all the way.

“I am a Somerset girl!” Lisa Dean, an employee, said. “We are closed for Cup Match and I will be supporting my community and team that day.”

Ms Dean describes the business as a variety takeaway. “The choice of foods ranges from Jamaican patties to oxtail and burgers and fries.

“We sell almost anything, but our most popular item is the fish salad which we have named Frankie & Sam — Sam is for fish, Frankie is chicken,” she said.

The community support is important to the business, she added, as most people who come in are from the area and already have their favourites.

What differentiates Misty’s Take Out is the friendly customer service, she said. “The owner, Ingo Roth, will do anything for anybody and the staff has a pleasant attitude.”

When asked who she thinks will lift the Cup, she replied: “Hopefully Somerset, but St George’s has a strong team this year.”

Somerset Pharmacy, which opened its doors 50 years ago, is preparing for a Somerset triumph.

Eleanor Fowle, owner of the business said: “We are certainly supporting Somerset and are selling items for Cup Match, such as Cup Match hats and T-shirts in Somerset colours. It gets difficult being a business that supports Somerset as we have locals that come in and ask for St George’s colours. We argue with them about which team is better, it is all in good fun, the whole month is fun!” she said.

Ms Fowle believes the reason her business has been so successful for half a century is because of the staff and how they treat their customers. “Our staff is friendly and we go beyond in trying to help,” she added.

The pharmacy sells items ranging from beauty supplies, toys, glasses, prescriptions and more. Its opening hours are Monday to Thursday, 8am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday from 11am to 2pm.

Neighbouring business Audio Visual and Village Café, are also Somerset supporters.

Anton Musson, who works at Village Café, said: “My grandma opened the takeaway the same year I was born, which was 24 years ago.”

Mr Musson, also rooting for the red-and-blues, said business has been going well over the years and that it is a tight-knit community.

“Every time people come in they ask how my family and my grandma is doing, everyone knows us,” Mr Musson said.

“We also get a lot of tourists who come in, due to the nearby guesthouses and they like that we sell authentic Bermudian food,” he added.

Mr Musson said the most popular dish is the local fish and homemade burgers. “The burgers are made from scratch, which people appreciate,” he added.

The takeaway will be closed during the holiday. Its regular opening hours are Monday to Thursday, 7:30am to 4pm, Friday and Saturday from 7:30am to 3am. It also serves a codfish breakfast every other Sunday, which has proved popular.

Audio Visual has been open for 16 years and the successful business has two locations, in Somerset and Hamilton.

Employee Cisco Aguiar mentioned that right now the most popular selling items are large televisions and the Amazon Fire TV stick. “The Somerset location is slower than Hamilton,” Mr Aguiar said. “We do a lot of installations here and in Hamilton we do mostly sales.”

Mr Aguiar, like everyone else is also born and raised in Somerset and will be supporting the team. “Somerset all the way for Cup Match!” he added.

Audio Visual is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and is closed on Sunday.