Ins and Outs of Business on Super Sunday : Football: Big-screen TV and pizza sellers get land-office rush; so do sports bars. But pity the golf course and the shopping mall.

Paul Goldenberg--the guy who modestly proclaims himself “The King of Big Screen”--sold so many humongous TV sets last week that he extended the hours of his La Habra store until midnight and scheduled deliveries before sunup.

Orange Sporting Goods, on the other hand, expected such a poor showing this weekend that it isn’t even opening its doors today. “People who like sports are going to be watching the Super Bowl, not shopping,” store manager Francel Esquivel said.

For some businesses, Super Bowl Sunday is as exciting as a 90-yard punt return. For others, it’s a fumble. Sports bars and liquor stores thrive, but golf courses become neatly mowed vacant lots. Malls suffer, too, though all things TV-related score big.

When the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday clinched a place in the ultimate football game, Derrick Riggs rushed out and bought a 35-inch big screen at Paul’s. Then he decided 35 inches weren’t enough and traded up for a 50-incher. The television temporarily inhabits his former roommates’ Anaheim house, site of the friends’ Super Bowl bash.

“I was going to buy a new TV sometime this year, though I didn’t plan to so soon,” said Riggs, 26, a youth counselor in Altadena. “But I’ve been a Cowboys fan my whole life, so I decided to go ahead with it.”

That’s the kind of customer Goldenberg has been seeing a lot of lately--football-philes committing in the 11th hour to that $2,000-or-more purchase they’ve been fantasizing about for months. Usually, he sells about 30 televisions a day. Last week, the number quadrupled.

“Super Bowl comes along, and people say, ‘Why not now?’ ” Goldenberg said.

Those who aren’t ready to splurge can always rent. Demand for rental TV sets at Rentronics in Anaheim climbed at least 15% last week.

“A group of guys will chip in $10 apiece to rent a big screen so they can get together, have a few brews and enjoy the game,” Rentronics manager Jonas Bowen said. “If you’re having a party, you don’t want to stick your friends with the 19-inch TV you have sitting in the corner.”

Other people will party with strangers in sports bars. The National Sports Grill’s restaurant section is booked solid, and the bar and pool hall will offer standing room only to most of the 400 customers anticipated.

“Our sales will be up about 40% from a normal Sunday,” said Arthur Cruz, assistant manager of the Buena Park tavern, which has two big screens and 45 smaller sets situated in every possible field of vision. “We ordered extra liquor and extra glasses to replace those schooners clanged together a bit too hard after a good play.”

Henry & Harry’s Goat Hill Tavern in Costa Mesa also has stocked up. “St. Patrick’s is our biggest day, but Super Bowl comes right behind it,” manager Gary Monahan said. Even so, he can still find cause to lament: “If the Raiders and 49ers were playing, business would be even better.”

Drivers for Seashore Beverage Distributors in Newport Beach were stretched so thin delivering beer to taverns, grocers and liquor stores that even the owner helped make runs. “I’ve been getting in a truck and doing deliveries myself--I haven’t done that in years,” said Robert Gallagher. “We’ve hired temporary drivers, and we’re working 14-hour days. The Super Bowl, the World Series, Wimbledon--we love ‘em!”

Where there’s beer, there’s pizza. The Domino’s in Irvine expects orders to more than double. “We usually have one driver on Sundays, but (today) we’ll have five,” said the store’s manager, Tracy Sanchez. “Nobody wants to leave the TV set.”

Supermarkets sell more chips, six-packs and avocados for guacamole. (Super Bowl Sunday follows only Cinco de Mayo in avocado sales.) But the turkeys, brandy and baking supplies purchased during the holidays make for heftier revenue, observed Darrell D’Arnall, service manager for a Vons market in San Juan Capistrano.

“Our sales are up about 10%, compared to 100% Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he said. “The Super Bowl brings in a more casual crowd.”

Come kickoff time, though, grocery stores empty out. “The only people we get in here are housewives looking for an excuse to escape the game,” said Greg Cleaver, assistant manager for a Lucky in Fountain Valley.

Trader Joe’s, which sells unusual appetizers such as hummus dip and peanut butter-filled pretzels, also benefits--until the actual day of the event. “Our sales are up 30% or 40% this week, but on Super Bowl Sunday traffic almost dies,” said Donny Alvarado, a manager in the chain’s Irvine store.

Others, as well, score big in advance, then lose yardage during the game. Sports Fan Paradise in Costa Mesa has been selling Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills shirts like mad all week. But on Sunday, the sports paraphernalia store will close at 1 p.m. “Our customers are not people who would miss the Super Bowl,” manager Fran Thiele said.

Many businesses, however, stand only to lose from the spectacle that will glue an estimated 130 million Americans to their TV sets.

Family restaurants that do best in the early evening have little to cheer about today. “Last Sunday was soft because of the playoffs,” said Tom Harris, manager of Mrs. Knott’s in Irvine. “I expect dinner on Super Bowl night will be even lighter.”

And shopping till you drop, for most, can wait.

“Historically, the mall has been empty on Super Bowl Sunday,” said Stephanie Greene, marketing director for the Mall of Orange.

This year, it’s fighting back. The mall hopes to attract customers with three big-screen televisions, $1 hot dogs and a clearance sale coordinated by 30 stores. “We’ll know Monday morning if it worked,” Greene said.

Automobile dealers see better days than the one they’re about to experience. “Usually, we would sell 15 cars on a Sunday, but we’ll be down to 11 or 12,” said Mike Shepard, owner of Santa Ana Chrysler Jeep and Santa Ana Isuzu Hyundai. “We end up with a few folks who aren’t football fans, and believe it or not, there are some of those in the world.”

There won’t be many people out buying plywood and electric drills, either. “It’s a very dismal day for us--maybe the worst day of the year,” said Dick Wolsfelt, manager of Buena Park Lumber & Hardware.

Even computer junkies opt for the Super Bowl over seeking out the latest software. “Our business will be down 50% at least,” said Margaret Jaibaji, manager of Software City in Lake Forest. “The majority of our customers are male, so that tends to affect our performance.”

Still, there are few lonelier places during the Super Bowl showdown than a golf course. “We’re booked solid from 6:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., but starting at about noon we’ll get a lot of no-shows,” predicted Lucien Guy Morin, a golf instructor at San Juan Hills Country Club in San Juan Capistrano. “By 3 p.m., it’ll empty out completely.”