LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The stadium is prepped, the players are ready, and the fans cannot wait for the start of the Arkansas Razorbacks’ season at War Memorial Stadium.
Businesses in Little Rock were already preparing for larger crowds, but now they’re getting ready for people to show up even earlier thanks to the game being moved up a couple of hours.
Daniel Bryant owns six businesses in Central Arkansas, and he said all hands will be on deck on Saturday.
“They’ll be down tailgating, but then they'll start coming in after the game and the rest of the night,” said Bryant. “The fountain will probably be full till the end of the night. We'll be making sandwiches and things. We've got ham and steaks to go.”
Though the game isn't until this weekend, two of his businesses have already been flooded with orders.
“At Whole Hog we’re already taking to-go orders, same for Gus’s downtown,” said Bryant.
He explained how a big weekend like this takes a lot of prep work.
“We definitely up our par orders, but we also do things that are different. For example, we'll smoke a bunch of wings this weekend, and then drop them in the fryer for just a second,” Bryant described.
It's the kickoff to a busy time for businesses which he said is a good thing.
“That's sort of the cycle, and football season starts that up,” said Bryant.
He's even been preparing to open the doors of Hill Station a little earlier than usual on Saturday— and he's not the only one doing that, Hogmans Game Day Superstore plans to do the same.
“We're going to open this location on University and then our North Little Rock. location at 8:00 a.m.,” said Kassi Duncan the Director of Retail Operations and Buyer at Hogmans.
Duncan explained that football season is a busy time and the Razorback game in Little Rock means it's game time.
“We are a local business right by War Memorial and so it's definitely a big boom for us,” said Duncan.
She explained that they’ve been working to make sure they have more than enough gear on hand for Hog fans this weekend.
“We're getting new merchandise daily, bringing in new stuff every single day,” said Duncan. “Whether it's a clear bag, whether it's a game a t-shirt, or jewelry.”
They will also be at War Memorial with gear for sale.
“We have 14 booths set up inside and outside the stadium at War Memorial. We’re going to be there starting at 6:00 a.m. for all you tailgaters that come early,” said Duncan.
When it comes to food orders for tailgating, Bryant said if you're looking to order make sure to do that as early as you can.
Duncan said they plan to have items that will help people beat the heat like fans and cooling towels at their booths.