TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — FAMU’s Homecoming brought thousands of visitors to Tallahassee last week, giving local businesses a major boost as restaurants, vendors, and event spaces saw one of their busiest weekends of the year.
- More than 50,000 visitors came to Tallahassee for FAMU’s Homecoming week.
- Local businesses like Street Eats, NachYo Nachos, and Pinappétit reported significant sales increases.
- Watch the video below to see the impact FAMUs Homecoming week had on local businesses
FAMU Homecoming Brings Big Economic Boost to Tallahassee Businesses
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Homecoming Week at FAMU was a time for celebration and reunion but also a chance for local Tallahassee businesses to grow.
"From an economic standpoint, the money was spread. The wealth was given out. For us, It was just a lot of hard work," Pinappétit CEO Sam Burgess said.
With more than 50,000 people coming to Tallahassee to celebrate FAMU homecoming, business owners in town saw the impact.
"We had about 50 to 80,000 people come, so we had an amazing turnout. We had a lot of people come buy nachos. The streets were flooded with people," said Adrian Kershaw, the owner & founder of Nach'Yo Nachos
And right next door at Street Eats, co-owner Tamara Tatum says sales drastically went up over the course of the week.
Tatum said, "I mean I think we did very well. They emptied out of refrigerator. They emptied out our freezer, and so we had to replenish but it was very worth it. I would say 60-70% increase in our sales that weekend. I think anybody in the restaurant business around this time will take that."
And for some local business owners like Burgess at Pinappétit, FAMU's homecoming meant serving more than just at his restaurant.
"Homecoming is by far the busiest time of the year for us. We were able to fortunately enough to cater for the football team and the faculty and staff for the football team, and it was a pleasure and honor to be able to do that this year. We also hosted the T-Pain concert at the Civic Center where we have a concession space there as well. We had about 8000 tickets sold for the Civic Center, so it was great night for us. Very busy. But we enjoyed all of it," said Burgess.
It's exposure like this, business owners say that makes Tallahassee so special.
The county and the city are already looking ahead for ways to make the FAMU HOCO experience even better.
They are asking visitors and vendors to complete a brief survey about their experiences during Homecoming weekend.
From packed restaurants to sold-out concerts, homecoming week proved once again that FAMU's celebration is one of Tallahassee's biggest economic boosts of the year.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
