SEC Baseball Tournament’s impact on businesses in Hoover

HOOVER, Ala. (WBRC) - More people, more money right now in Hoover as the SEC Baseball Tournament is heating up.

Although it’s only day two of the tournament, restaurants say they are already seeing an influx of customers.

Cody Sellers, Director of Operations at Moe’s Original BBQ, said they have been in Hoover for about two years, and they get a rush from showing off their unique Alabama-style BBQ.

“It kind of gives new life into a business that your local community has supported over the 10 years we have been in Birmingham,” Sellers said. “Ten, 15 years, and to kind of put yourself out there in front of new faces again, again and again every year is always fun for us.”

They aren’t the only ones - just a few doors down, Clean Eatz is on their second year of serving food during SEC Tournament, which they say helps keep their revenue steady.

Steven Lee, Co-owner of Clean Eatz, said, “We actually see a decline in overall revenue this time of the year, which is expected, but with this tournament, it definitely helps out with the balance of that time of season and the transitions.”

A business new to the area, Biscuit Belly, is hoping by the end of the week to see a 10-15 percent increase.

Rachel and Andrew Adams, Co-owners of Biscuit Belly, said, “We have had some catering orders for ESPN, so we had that yesterday, this morning, and tomorrow for 100 people each morning, and so that has been fun to go to the Met, and as far as inside the store, it’s definitely increased, and we look forward to it increasing even more.”

Before this week, each restaurant prepared for the influx of customers by increasing their staffing and their food to keep up with their catering and in-house orders.

All three restaurants’ goal for this week is to get the word out about their business and attract more customers.

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