"And they were happy to come in because it is all about giving these people a great welcome and a great time."
In return, many of the Lions visitors to the shop, where they pursued everything from Art Deco jewellery to posters and giftware, occasionally broke into song to entertain the staff and others in the shop.
"They have been wonderful visitors and have been really interested in the whole Art Deco story and how Napier came to be how it is."
Voices raised in cheerful song have also been a feature of many afternoons and evenings in the Rose Bar in Hastings St.
"They are a very musical bunch and they have been keeping us entertained," said the bar's unit manager, Vanessa, adding that the most popular tipples had been Guinness and Steinlager.
"It's been pretty constant and at times it gets really flat out - they have been enjoying themselves."
She said it was totally out of the ordinary for the time of year, and the afternoons from about 3 onwards had been particularly busy for staff as the visitors relaxed after their sightseeing wanders.
"It has been just great and they've been telling us we'll see them all again in 12 years [another possible Lions tour]."
The past couple of weeks had been "out of control" but in a great way, said a spokesperson for the Thirsty Whale in West Quay.
"They've been such good people, lovely people in good spirits and a lot of them have told their friends so they've been calling in while passing through here."
The past week had been "amazing" - and having a super-big screen to show the games for those who stayed in the Bay had clearly helped.
"It's been a real mid-winter bonus for us."
It had been the same for the cafe trade.
"It was starting to look like a pretty quiet winter there for a while but this has changed everything," Ujazi Cafe chef Caleb Devitt said during a spare few minutes away from the busy kitchen.
"Have we been busy? - oh yes, very definitely," he said.
During the weekend and on Monday and Tuesday business had been pretty well non-stop. "No breaks, just flat out and that's great for this time of the year."
Mr Devitt said the mornings had been the busiest times, with the visitors plumping for things like sausages and black pudding.
"Good hearty breakfasts - but a bit of everything really."
The colours of the Lions had also been a regular sight at other central city cafes.
For Lions supporter Ray Miller, from Caerphilly in Wales, Napier was simply "a beautiful place".
While it is his third visit to New Zealand it was his first to Napier.
"All the buildings are amazing and I love your pier over on the seafront," he said.
Mr Miller met his partner, Sharon Orr, who is a Kiwi, on a previous visit and in 2011 she moved to Wales with him.
"So it was time to bring him back," she said with a smile.
"We are having a very good look around and it's been amazing," Mr Miller said.
"Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly."
That was also how brothers Mike and Tom from Galashiels, in the border region of Scotland, also found it here.
"Everywhere we've been it's been great," Mike said, adding it was the first time for both of them to step on to Kiwi shores.
"Great hospitality - very friendly and Napier is a really nice little town - and wonderful weather," he said.
"It's like a Scottish summer here," Tom added as they enjoyed the warm afternoon sun.
And the brief rains of Monday evening hadn't bothered them.
"We were fine . . . we were in the pub," Tom said.
