Business is 'booming' after MAX grand opening
Business is booming in downtown Meridian after the MAX grand opening.
"There's been visitors walking constantly. Hundreds of people we don't normally see, many of them visitors, but also people that are rediscovering downtown Meridian which is a place you want to be," said Brickhaus Brewtique owner Bill Arlinghaus.
Thousands of people flooded the area with store sales soaring at a record pace.
"We met so many people on Friday and Saturday; it was just great," said Polly Smith, owner of Uptown Girl.
Businesses like Jean's Restaurant opened outside normal hours. The popular restaurant opened on Saturday, and others followed suit. Its neighbor, Uptown Girl, was open and sale numbers nearly doubled.
"So we're really excited about the new people that we'll meet, new customers we'll get and we'll be able to serve more people that way too. Because you know we love taking care of them with their clothing, cosmetics, whatever they need to make them look good and feel good about themselves, we're really excited about," said Smith.
And down the street - Brickhaus Brewtique felt the wave of excitement. The business renovated with fresh paint and a new outside patio. It saw sales like never before.
"I don't have all the numbers yet but I can tell you Saturday we were up 300-percent over a normal Saturday day," said Arlinghaus.
Owner Bill Arlinghaus calls it the most profitable day in his business's history.
"On the grand opening day on Saturday, we actually sold more food than we have ever sold in our 4 and a half years of history," said Arlinghaus.
Local owners are hoping they can carry this same momentum as more people visit the MAX.
"We want the momentum but we want people to come down and shop at all places downtown. We want to kind of create an urban mall like the MAX wants throughout the downtown area and have people walk, explore and enjoy. There's plenty of shops, plenty of restaurants, plenty of bars and we want them to enjoy all of them," said Arlinghaus.
On Tuesday, is Choctaw Day at the MAX. At 4:45 p.m., a new star on the Walk of Fam will be unveiled for Choctaw Elders. On Wednesday, the MAX is honoring veterans with a special musical program at 1 p.m. MAX admission will be “free” for veterans. And on Saturday, Paul Thorn will perform in the MAX Ampitheater. The concert starts at 7 p.m.
