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When the Hokies take the field Saturday for their home opener against Furman, Lane Stadium will not be the only place bursting with energy.
Downtown Blacksburg has prepared itself for the influx of yelling and spirited fans who will flood its streets tomorrow.
Restaurants and merchandise stores are expected to be main attractions before, during, and after the game.
"We're building a back bar and stage, and we're moving stuff around. It's to help things go a lot smoother," said Matt Leckie, general manager of the Gobbler restaurant.
Since the number of customers soars above average on game days, these restaurants must prepare their food orders far in advance as well.
"We double all the food we have" in stock, Leckie said. "We don't want to run out."
Lee Baskin, general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, said that the restaurant typically uses 30 cases of wings on a game day, with each case holding about 300 wings.
As expected, business is depressing when Virginia Tech suffers a loss. Winning is a different story.
"When we win, everyone is pumped, we get better tips, everyone is happy. Business is always better when they win," Leckie said.
On game weekends there will be even more maroon and orange on campus than usual. Tech merchandise is a must-have for Hokies to display spirit.
The Campus Emporium and Tech Bookstore both expect to get a lot of business this weekend. Managers of both stores agreed that T-shirts, sweatshirts and tailgate gear are top-sellers, but anything with a VT symbol will probably be sold.
Both are staying open late and using extra employees to accommodate this weekend.
The Campus Emporium expects to see wall-to-wall customers for the first home game, as manager Meggin Hicklin expects the store to stay open until 11 p.m. to accommodate the masses.
"The first game is always exciting, so there may be more customers," Hicklin said. "We'll see how the season plays out."
Tech Bookstore manager Jerry Diffell expects his store to be packed as well. Diffell said that he is excited to see how the remodeling of the store changes the amount of business they can accommodate.
The merchandise is more spread out, letting more people shop at once. Five additional registers have been added.
"We are really excited about the season and our new look," Diffell said.
Diffell also expects to sell a large amount of T-shirts, polo shirts and jerseys. The Tech Bookstore is carrying a special "throwback" jersey made by Nike that it hopes will be a big-seller.
The Tech Bookstore will be open late on Friday night and have extended hours on Saturday, staying open from from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"Needless to say, we are really gearing up," Diffell said.
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Awesome. Promote the stores in town that give nothing back to the university, and act like their "late hours" are something different from the ones that _do_ support the university. Perception does not equal reality, especially in the minds of the CT staff.
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Buffalo Wild Wings is now a dump. The place used to be awesome. It went downhill a few years ago. What went wrong??
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