Business owners in Arkansas say they overprepared for the influx of people and didn’t reach the number of customers they expected.
CLARKSVILLE, Ark. — Many local businesses in Arkansas are breathing a sigh of relief now that the solar eclipse has passed. While some regions were satisfied with the visitor turnout, others were disappointed.
For more than a year, city officials and businesses in Arkansas have been preparing for the Great American Eclipse in 2024, anticipating a weekend packed with tourists and local residents.
Clarksville, a small town in Arkansas that experienced totality, said it was pleased with the turnout.
“Our community has learned that we can do more than what we like, believing that we are a small community. We came together, the Chamber, the city, the county, everyone. We all really came together to make this work,” said Abby Tucker, vice president of commercial affairs.
Tucker said events in the downtown area have helped boost local business. One of his local restaurants, his Daddy’s Smacking Wings and Things, confirms his positive experience.
“We prepared a week in advance and everything went smoothly,” said kitchen manager George Jones.
Not all companies can say the same. Wood Grill Buffet Restaurant near Little Rock says they and many other restaurant owners bought and prepared so much food that they were overwhelmed by foot traffic and even lost income.
“We fed 85 people in nine hours,” said Elgin Hamner, owner of Wood Grill Buffet. “We have a lot of time to feed that many people in our normal business, so it was really disappointing.” Told.
Hamner said he believes the lack of tourists has something to do with local residents choosing to stay home to avoid tourists throughout the weekend leading up to Monday’s eclipse.
“I think there were quite a number of people. [that stayed home] “Because I had people in the restaurant industry contacting me from other cities, and some of their stories were much worse than ours,” he said.
Hamner’s restaurant lost about $6,000 in revenue last week. He says recovery for his restaurant and many others could take four to six weeks, or longer.
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