Some Local Business Owners Are Let Down by Their Excitement About the Eclipse

Many local Arkansas companies may breathe a sigh of relief now that the eclipse has passed. While some localities were pleased with the number of visitors, others were unimpressed.

For more than a year, city officials and businesses in Arkansas on the path of totality have planned for what they expect to be a busy weekend for tourists and locals during the 2024 Great American Eclipse.

Clarksville, a small Arkansas hamlet that witnessed totality, said they were thrilled with the turnout.

“I discovered that our community is capable of far more than we sometimes give ourselves credit for as a smaller community. We banded together—the chamber, the city, and the county. “Everyone worked together to make this happen,” Chamber of Commerce Vice President Abby Tucker stated.

Tucker stated that their event downtown helped to encourage local companies. A local eatery, Daddy’s Smacking Wings and Things verified the pleasant experience. “We prepared a week in advance, got ourselves ready, and everything went smoothly,” the kitchen manager, George Jones, explained.

Not every company can say the same. Wood Grill Buffet restaurant near Little Rock said they and many other restaurant owners were disappointed with the attendance and even lost money after purchasing so much food to prepare.

“We served 85 people in nine hours. “There are a lot of hours that we feed that many people regularly, so it was very disappointing,” Wood Grill Buffet owner Elgin Hamner said. Hamner feels the poor turnout was due to locals staying at home during the weekend before the eclipse on Monday to escape the crowds.

“I think it was a significant amount of people [that stayed home] because I had people reach out to me from other cities in the restaurant business and some of their stories were much worse than ours,” said the restaurateur.

Hamner’s restaurant lost approximately $6,000 in income last week. He estimates that recovery for his business and many others will take four to six weeks, if not longer.