VIDEO: Starkville Businesses Benefit From Incoming Students

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Overnight, Starkville has almost doubled in population.

With students returning to Mississippi State and preparing for class, businesses and restaurants are also preparing for the major influx of customers.

Businesses are excited for the coming school year and football season because to them that means one thing, more business.

Along main street in Starkville, businesses got a little taste of what is to come from move-in day.

“We have definitely seen an influx of students, as well as parents coming to drop their kids of at school, needing that new place to eat and everything else involved with keeping the students happy,” said Manager of Moe’s BBQ, Jacob Bishop.

It wasn’t just one business here and there.

Most of main street was affected by the thousands coming into Starkville.

“For sure, we’ve been a lot busier, especially yesterday with move-in day. We were pretty busy all day, had a steady line going out throughout the day. We have definitely noticed a big influx when the students come back into town,” said employee of 929 Coffee Bar, John Usry.

There is a different atmosphere in the fall than there is in the summer, and from a business perspective it’s noticeable.

“We for sure see a lot more transactions throughout the day, which means more money. That keeps us a lot busier, so it’s really nice on both ends of it. More people are in town; we sell more coffee,” said Usry.

The start of classes means that football season is right around the corner.

Businesses know that this will call for more hands on deck and more supplies.

“We are going to see a larger influx of people coming around for these football games, which alternately is going to put more food in our system to push out the door,” said Bishop.

“We are going to keep more people behind the bar throughout the day, just to handle kind of the extra influx of people. Typically, three people are behind the bar at all times, just to help drinks get out faster and orders get through smoothly,” said Usry.

It’ll be more difficult to maintain the large number of people, but after a relaxed summer, businesses are excited for the economic impact this school year brings.

“We definitely lost some business over that, but we stayed strong, kept our numbers, and we’re ready for a good football season,” said Bishop.

Other upcoming events like Bulldog Bash are more reasons for the businesses in Starkville to be excited for the Fall.