Businesses impacted by the race weekend, enjoying the increased foot traffic

DOVER, Del. – With NASCAR back in Dover, and fewer restrictions, that means larger crowds, which according to small businesses in the area, meant some more foot traffic.

For barista, Jenna Civak, this weekend resulted in more coffees walking out the door of The House of Coffi. “So this morning when the race started, we had everyone coming in at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., ready to get their coffee,” says Civak. She adds, “It’s been a little stressful because we’re a little busier than we think sometimes, and a little short-handed sometimes but we love having people come in so we rather more people than no one.”

Civak tells 47 ABC, that they saw families from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland with everyone bringing more than just excitement, but their wallets too. “So last year compared to a year ago, it’s awesome to see where we are today.

Just a few stores over, a local vape shop, Puffster, says they just extended their hours which assistant manager Brittni Compton says certainly paid off. They were just like oh I didn’t know that there was no sales tax here! So we were able to add on sales and then get them to continue to contact us.”

Compton says their Monday morning stayed with the upward trend of customers. She says whether, for a vape, or a look at their CBD products, they gained a lot of traction and hope for the business. “It was just nice to be accessible to the people that were just trying to be in and out and having them just talk to us,” says Compton.

Although not every business we spoke with saw a major influx of foot traffic, the ones that did say this just gave a preview of what’s to come. “Just all the events coming back to Dover is so exciting,’ says Cavik. She adds, “Being here now on the come up and hearing about how they had to deal with it last year, it’s been great for us.”

Businesses we spoke with also say with more events returning to Dover and more businesses opening, they’re hopeful for the year to come.