WACO, TX — Magnolia's fifth annual Silobration weekend is expected to bring more than just the expected 40,000 tourists.
The City of Waco's Director of Marketing Carla Pendergraft explained with each Magnolia based event, so too comes a boom for local businesses.
25 News spoke with three small business owners within walking distance from the Silobration, who all describe a noticeable uptick in their clientele.
"They all shop in the morning [at Silobration] but we defiantly see, there is a lot more people in town. I feel like they shop in the morning, they eat lunch and then they all want to come and explore," explained Sara Martin, the owner and operator of Gather, a small Waco-based artisan boutique.
"We're just so excited for everything that's happening, and we love people coming in and experiencing the city," said Martin.
Kimberly Batson, co-owner of the newly-opened Fabled Bookstore and Cafe in the heart of downtown, explained a similar influx of customers.
"Already we're seeing groups of friends and families coming through," said Batson.
She made a point in explaining the increase of clientele is so large, it equates similarly to the influx of retail clientele during the holidays.
"With Magnolia we've had to adapt, because normally this week would be just a normal week, but now its like [an] influx, so now it's like re-calibrating for the needs and the inventory, the staffing and trying to be on top of that," explained Batson.
The City of Waco said it is not possible to even estimate the amount of revenue earned until after Waco returns to its baseline.
