BETHEL — Sunday River officials said the ski area enjoyed record-breaking ticket sales Friday, Dec. 30, mostly because of the nearly 2 feet of snow that fell the previous day.

Darcy Lambert, director of communications for Sunday River, said the resort sold the most lift tickets ever in one day, as far back as their records go.

“Between lift tickets and season passes, we had over 10,000 people on the slopes on Friday, and we continued to have very strong numbers throughout the weekend,” Lambert said.

Greg Duclos, general manager of Sunday River Brewing Co., said it was “the perfect storm” because of vacation week and an impressive nor’easter.

The Brewing Co. served over 1,800 patrons throughout the holiday weekend, according to Duclos, and had to put a hold on takeout orders on New Year’s Eve because of the high volume of customers in the restaurant. Duclos said Friday night was just as busy, and they continued to have “an incredible run” for the entire week of the holiday vacation.

“The storm definitely contributed to it, (especially) with the pent-up demand for good snow this time of year, which we haven’t seen in a long while, with the exception of the amazing snow the mountain puts out,” Duclos said.

Restaurants La Choza and Brian’s in Bethel enjoyed successful holiday weekends, thanks to the storm and the vacation week.

“Since we just opened, we were not sure what the weekend would bring,” said Jess Nichols who owns Brian’s with her husband, Brian Nichols. Until Tuesday night, she said, “We had turned away business due to not having any more space.” They opened Dec. 16.

La Choza, which opened Dec. 28, experienced a lull in business Thursday because of the storm, but owner Kevin McAllister said it “picked right back up” Friday, with patrons waiting at the door for the 3 p.m opening time.

“It’s been a really great mix of people coming off the mountain, as well as locals,” McAllister said.

emarquis@sunmediagroup.net