The Essence Festival is happening now and it’s creating a business boom with the extra cash flow helping local businesses. In the French Quarter, small businesses are taking advantage of all the extra foot traffic and for Brittney Walker, owner of B-Sweets Bistro, business is booming. “I expect a big crowd and I anticipate who’s going to come through the doors because you never know who you’re going to meet. Yesterday, crazy. Today, when I first opened, crazy. I haven’t really had a chance to take a break, stop, pause,” Walker said. The small business owner said big events like the Essence Festival draw crowds, giving her the needed boost. “I decided to expand my hours. That’s something I’ve never done. Last year was crazy, but I closed at my regular time. I kind of had a feeling what the crowd would be like, but this is another level,” Walker said. And it’s not just restaurants that are taking advantage of the revenue coming into the city. At The Page, a local neighborhood bar, operating partner Willie Mackie said they’re bringing in big revenues, too. “We haven’t even started tonight yet and we’ve already exceeded expectations for the first night last year,” Mackie said. According to Mayor Latoya Cantrell, Essence brings in about $300 million, something Mackie said trickles down to his business. “In a seven-day week, we make an average of about $10,000, seven days. In three days, we’ll do that three times,” Mackie said. He added that that revenue is beneficial considering it comes at a time when business is typically slow. “In the summertime in New Orleans, you know the bar and restaurant industry really suffers. Well, when July comes around and Essence is here, it takes care of a lot of things that we didn’t have,” Mackie said. As both businesses prepare for what they call a long weekend, they are preparing to cash in, but also to give visitors an authentic New Orleans experience. “The money will come, but I’m here for the experience. I’m here to see who’s coming. I’m here to give these people a real New Orleans experience,” Walker said.
The Essence Festival is taking place now and is creating a commercial boom with the extra cash flow helping local businesses.
In the French Quarter, small businesses are taking advantage of all the extra foot traffic and for Brittney Walker, owner of B-Sweets Bistro, business is booming.
“I’m hoping for a big crowd and I’m looking forward to seeing who’s going to come in because you never know who you’re going to see. Yesterday was crazy. Today when I first opened, it was crazy. I haven’t really had a chance to take a break, stop, pause,” Walker said.
The small business owner said big events like the Essence Festival draw crowds, giving her the boost she needs.
“I decided to expand my hours. It’s something I’ve never done before. Last year was crazy, but I closed at my regular hours. I had an idea of how people would be, but this is another level,” Walker said.
And it’s not just restaurants that are taking advantage of the revenue coming into town. At The Page, a local neighborhood bar, operating partner Willie Mackie said they’re also generating big revenues.
“We haven’t even started tonight and we’ve already exceeded expectations from the first night last year,” Mackie said.
According to Mayor Latoya Cantrell, Essence generates approximately $300 million, something Mackie says trickles down to his business.
“In a seven-day week, the average is about ten thousand dollars, right? Seven days. In three days, we’ll do it three times,” Mackie said.
He added that the revenue is beneficial considering it comes at a time when business is typically slow.
“In the summertime in New Orleans, the bar and restaurant industry is really struggling. But come July, Essence is here. It takes care of a lot of things that we didn’t have before,” Mackie said.
As both companies gear up for what they call a long weekend, they are preparing to cash in but also to give visitors an authentic New Orleans experience.
“The money will come, but I’m here for the experience. I’m here to see who’s coming. I’m here to give these people a real New Orleans experience,” Walker said.