Russellville businesses rake in major cash during eclipse
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The more rural parts of Arkansas seemed to rake in the most visitors and business this past weekend for the eclipse.
Russellville turned out to be one of the best cities in the state to watch the eclipse, and the crowds for it certainly did not disappoint.
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Businesses downtown said visitors started pouring in Friday morning and stayed through Monday night.
“It was like, ‘Oh my God.’ We were running around like crazy,” Jose Vlanco, an employee at Taco in downtown Russellville, said.
The restaurant opened just a month ago. Right now, staff is light, but owners thought they could handle the expected rush.
“I was expecting a lot of people, but not that much,” Vlanco said.
By Saturday, the owner was calling in his family and friends to help out in the kitchen.
Down the street at Jackalope Cycling, owner Johnny Brazil said his usual day off turned into a massive success.
“It was awesome,” he said.
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Brazil said most of his sales came from clothing and eclipse merchandise.
“[That’s] really fun because they’re taking that to other places and kind of marketing for us,” he noted.
Brazil said his favorite part of the day was sharing his love for the outdoors with people out of state.
“We had [people from] Missouri, a lot of Kansas, lots of Texas and Oklahoma, California, New York,” he listed.
Brazil said it was great to connect with visitors and hopes this event brings them back to Arkansas.
Arkansas Tech University was able to rake in some cash of its own. The University sold parking spots for the eclipse and the eclipse weekend. Altogether, they raised more than $28,000. That money will be distributed to 10 different student organizations on campus.
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On Tuesday afternoon, the streets were quiet and life was back to normal. Despite the craziness of the days before, businesses said it was a weekend unlike any other.
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