Western alumnus, Mark Bradshaw enjoys being a manager of Kroger during the Homecoming season. He sees students and alumni stop in to pick up tail-gating items decked out to support the Hilltoppers.

“I enjoy seeing people wearing extra Western stuff and getting extra business,” he said.

Kroger isn’t the only business that sees a change in its clientele aroudn Homecoming. Bookstores, restaurants, liquor stores and Western’s dining facilities are also affected by the Homecoming needs of students and alumni. Many have extra staff or supplies for this busy day.

The University Bookstore, located in the Downing University Center, gets an influx in business. The store also gets a lot of alumni business, said Jim Sears, assistant director of the University Bookstore.

“We try to cater to the alumni folks,” Sears said. “It may be their only chance to come to Bowling Green.”

Items such as Christmas ornaments, bumper stickers, car flags, car mats and golf items are popular with alumni, he said.

The store is set up with a “grab and go” section up front with the more popular items so people don’t have to spend all day searching the store, he said.

“For a lot of people, it’s the only time they’re here, so they buy a lot,” he said.

Mariah’s Restaurant, located at 801 State St. is a popular place during Homecoming. The restaurant receives a lot of reservations for individual tables and banquet rooms for Western organizations such as sororities and fraternities, General Manager Phil Talamo said. He said the wait to be seated is about an hour.

Mariah’s has a larger staff for Homecoming as opposed to other weekends, he said.

“Of course it’s a little stressful, but people are making more money,” he said. “During Homecoming, people seem to be a bit more gracious as far as tipping servers.”

Liquor stores are also a popular place for people to spend their cash during Homecoming. Kirit Patel is the manager of Red Barn Liquors off of 31-W Bypass.

“I think the whole town gets a lot of business from Homecoming,” he said. “It seems like every gas station and and every hotel gets a lot of business because of the people.”

Patel said he has to worry about keeping things on stock, especially ice because of tailgating. He said they have extra people on staff as well this day.

The dining facilities on campus are hit pretty hard with the flow of Homecoming traffic. Roy Biggers, resident district manager of dining services, said RedZone’s patronage doubles on Homecoming. He also said that The Fresh Food Company patronage increases about 10 to 15 percent.

Biggers said dining services gets students, alumni and prospective students during Homecoming.

“It’s fun to have that much going on,” he said.

Dining services is also busy catering various tents set up on the lawn for different campus organizations. To keep up with everything, he requires that all 300 of his employees work.

“Everyone goes to work and gets it done,” he said.

The Hampton Inn along Three Springs Road also gets more business during Homecoming. General Manager Michael Nunn said they get a lot of business from groups such as sororities, fraternities and alumni.

He said the staff wears Western gear and decorates the lobby in Western spirit for the day. Homecoming attendees aren’t usually found in the hotel because the day offers many events to keep them busy.

Groups and people visiting Western get special rates, he said.

“It’s one of the best weekends for us as far as people who are happy to be here,” he said.

Reach Nina Bosken
at news@wkuherald.com.