Incoming Students Welcomed By Local Businesses

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Starkville, Miss. (WCBI)– Waves of Mississippi State students are returning to Starkville for the upcoming school year and all of those students coming back means a rush for local business owners.

“We like to call this the perfect storm, I mean everything’s set up, everybody’s coming back, everybody’s been getting ready for this all summer…”, says The Little Dooey in Starkville’s manager Mac Smith.

“The business is so intense it’s unbelievable. I call it a love-hate relationship. Love the business but the stress can get really bad, but we’re not complaining…”, says Oby’s Restaurant owner Don O’Bannon.

Business owners also look to capitalize on the fact that when students move-in, their families usually follow.

“You get a lot families to come to help…they’re not just here for an hour or two, they’re here pretty much a whole day…”, says The Little Dooey’s general manager Bart Wood, “…so they’re [going to] eat out, they’re [going to] go shopping, they’re [going to] buy gasoline, cokes, hotel rooms. It’s just a great thing for Starkville, Mississippi.”

And the increase in business brings the need for extra employees.

Many local restaurants look to college students to help out with the busy season.

“It’s just almost more business than you can handle, which creates quite a few jobs…”, says O’Bannon, “…we’ve had so many students through here, employed, part time workers…that I couldn’t come near putting a number on it.”

And the businesses look for this storm of consumers to last throughout the year.

“It’s going to last until they go home for Christmas, I mean its going to be nonstop…and football season intensifies it so much more…”, says Smith.

The first day of school for Mississippi State is August 17th.