WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — After 4 years of cancelled events, Winston-Salem State University is officially celebrating its full homecoming again.
WFMY News 2's Nixon Norman spent some time in Downtown Winston-Salem where she learned homecoming isn't just about football, especially for local businesses because weekends like these can bring in a lot of extra revenue.
As WSSU Homecoming events wrapped up, several alumni made their way downtown. While some of them are local to Winston-Salem, others have traveled to the Triad specifically for this weekend. Of course, with more people staying in the city, the local economy is bound to reap the benefits.
Several downtown businesses, such as retail store, 'Just Be' have been prepping for this weekend and looking forward to the homecoming rush.
"We have had many customers, starting even on Wednesday, bringing their families back to town for homecoming. They bring their children and their spouses, and we have generated quite a bit of revenue from folks coming in and our local business, repeat business, bringing in their friends as well," Just Be Employee, Liz Meadows said.
With these businesses expecting more customers this weekend, many of them went through extra preparation. Such as Mayberry for example, a Triad based restaurant and ice cream parlor.
"Oh yeah, ice cream, making sure we're stocked up on whatever we need for food: burgers, hotdogs, especially ice cream. We're an ice cream place so we have to have plenty of that," Store Manager of Winston-Salem's Mayberry, Brianna Hudson said.
While places like Brother's Pizzeria has stocked up on extra dough and cheese, owner of the pizza joint says he mainly looks forward to a pick up of pace, saying Downtown Winston-Salem could use a boost in visitors.
"We definitely need it, especially down here in Winston-Salem lately. Things have been kind of slow and you know, the revenue from out of town definitely helps out everybody. It's actually great to meet all these parents because they're all from all over the place and we're from New Jersey, and it's great to meet other people from New Jersey as well and it's definitely a pleasure meeting all the parents and of course the students," Owner of Brother's Pizzeria, Michael Scottodifrega.
If you missed the WSSU Homecoming football game, the college is hosting a charity basketball game Sunday with the initiative of bridging the gap between alumni and students.