Bill Nester is already prepared for Homecoming weekend. The co-owner of Manny's Quality Apparel ordered extra hoodies, hats, basic orange t-shirts and children's and women's clothing to keep his customers satisfied throughout the event.
"Homecoming is a very important weekend for us," Nester said. "It's one of our three busiest weekends of the year." Graduation and Parents Weekend are the other two, he said.
For many Syracuse establishments, Homecoming weekend is more than a football game and a series of performances and parades. It's an opportunity to temporarily increase business and create more overall revenue.
Many alumni return to Syracuse University for the Homecoming festivities, increasing the number of potential customers on campus. Local businesses work hard to satisfy their customers' needs during this weekend and often benefit from their increased efforts.
"A lot of our old favorite customers come back to see us," said John Vavalo, owner of J.Michael's Shoes. "They always stop in to say hello."
Vavalo said the tradition of hanging a banner for the Homecoming parade evolved over the 24 years his store has been open.
Cosmos' Pizza doesn't have any special decorations in the works for Homecoming but is prepared for a large crowd.
"It's going to be a busy weekend for us," said co-owner Demo Stathis, who plans to have additional staff working. "Alumni come back and visit where they frequented in school. We see a lot of people who were students."
This year's festivities include campus tours, awards ceremonies, parades, a pep rally and of course the football game against the Pittsburgh University Panthers. However, not all local businesses worry about the preparation. The Sheraton does not change much, but the hotel does raise prices by 30 to 40 percent.
"When you're corporate, Homecoming weekend preparation really goes into having extra staff for the influx of check-ins or extra bell people," said the hotel's general manager, David M. Heymann.
Many shop owners are excited for the added business Homecoming will bring them, but know having Parents Weekend so close to Homecoming could affect the possible turnout.
"It'll be interesting to see," said Dominik Barbano, owner of Garbo's Hair Nail and Tanning. "I'm not sure that having Parents Weekend on a [holiday] and then right after that having Homecoming was a good idea."
However, most owners aren't concerned about the stretch of time between weekends. For the restaurant Lemon Grass, located in Armory Square, Homecoming weekend is more like a regular weekend, business-wise.
"We're busy [on weekends]," said manager Shelly McCann. "But we always get an SU crowd - Parents Weekend is full."
Director of Sales Tarrie Kissane isn't particularly worried about small crowds during this year's Homecoming festivities.
"Business might fall off a few percentage points," said Kissane, regarding the back-to-back weekends. "But people love coming to visit. We'll still be busy."
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