BUFFALO, N.Y. — Grow up in Buffalo and you know, every Bills victory over the Patriots is a little sweeter than the last. Almost as sweet as biting into a giant donut. Just ask Co-Owner Sam Scarcello and the crew at Public Espresso.
"A shop in Boston called Kane's Donuts reached out to us and challenged us to a friendly wager," Scarcello told 2 On Your Side.
"When the New England Patriots crush, disseminate, ruin the Buffalo Bills this Saturday, you're going to send us a dozen of your delicious donuts," Maria Delious of Kane's Donuts out of Saugus, Massachusetts said in the shop's Instagram challenge.
But when the Bills did the crushing, disseminating, and ruining, Kane's sent not just one, but five dozen of their colossal donuts, to Buffalo.
"We thought it was a fun way to kind of build up anticipation for the game and sort of get people excited about donuts as well," Scarcello said.
Now just like the Bills, he says they're on to Kansas City.
"We did a little bit of research and found a shop in Kansas City and reached out to them," he said. "They're called Mr. D's Donut Shop in Kansas City, and they were game for it as well."
This week, it won't just be donuts on the line.
"When we messaged them, they responded and said, why won't we up the ante a little bit and the losing team will make a donation of $500 to the donation of the other city's choosing."
So here's hoping that all of Public Espresso's special "dobaz," decorated to look like Zubaz, and chicken wing donuts (cider cake donuts dipped in honey hot sauce glaze) stay here in Buffalo, and plenty of Kansas City dollars come pouring into the Patricia Allen Fund at Oishei Children's Hospital.
"Bills Mafia is kind of known for jumping in and supporting in these types of situations, so whether we win or lose, I think there's going to be a lot of great donations going around no matter what," Scarcello said.
To pre-order your game day donuts from Public Espresso, click here.
Beer and a Business Trip On the Line
Sure, they're in the beer business, but when it comes to Bills playoffs, that's not all Thin Man Brewery wagers. There's also a business trip involved.
For last year's Bills playoffs run, Owner Mike Shatzel started reaching out to his brewing contacts in the opposing cities to make the games a little more interesting. They pick a brewery to team up with, and the losing city has to send a crew to the winning city's brewery for a beer collaboration.
But that's not all. The losing city's brewery also has to prominently display the winning city's jersey for the entire next football season.
Last week, Thin Man challenged Lord Hobo Brewery in Massachusetts, who will have to hang up a Josh Allen jersey all next year. This week, it's a rematch from last season with Diametric Brewery in Chiefs country.
"We made the bet last year. We lost, so our team had to go there in September and brew a beer," Shatzel said. "They're great guys and really showed us the town. So we're betting them again and something similar. The losing team will have to hang the jersey up with the other team's name so we'll have to get a custom jersey made."
Shatzel says even though the stakes are high, the friendly bets are more about celebrating the camaraderie among the brewers.
"It's great," he said. "Having people come to Buffalo that haven't come to Buffalo and just showing them a great time. Then you know, local Buffalonians will put out the red carpet for them. It's just really nice exposure for Buffalo around the country."