Local Businesses Applaud NBA Agreement

The Celtics appear poised to return to action next month after players and owners reached a tentative deal Saturday. That is good news for local businesses who say they've been hurting without the NBA.

Employers at bars and restaurants around TD Garden say on a normal game night they would have about 50 employees on staff. But this year staffing levels on what would have been game nights are closer to 10 employees.

Jim Taggart, the manager of The Four's, a restaurant near the TD Garden, says patronage on days that the Celtics play makes up one-third of their annual gross.

"You don't replace an NBA basketball game," Taggart said. "There's a substantial amount of money. We made almost 40 percent less than we did last year, so that's a lot of money."

One bright spot, Taggart says, is that Bruins' business has been, as he puts it, "off the charts."