Oxford Square Businesses Ready For Double Decker Crowds

Businesses on the Square are expecting large crowds tonight and tomorrow as the 23rd annual Double Decker Arts Festival takes over the town.  The event is expected to bring in a big boost in revenue, too. Sadie Wilson from University Sporting Goods says all employees will be working the big weekend.
“The store is pretty full most of the time,” Wilson said. “We have to keep workers outside and inside just to keep traffic moving at a fast pace so it doesn’t get too crowded.”
Wilson also said the store is running sales for festival goers.
“We do like a five dollar bin and ten dollar t-shirts outside,” Wilson said. “We also do a couple of sale items to get rid of the fall inventory.”
University Sporting Goods isn’t the only business gearing up for the big weekend. The Lily Pad also has sales lined up, and manager Stephany Kennedy even has a special item for sale.
“A top seller that we have every year is a t-shirt,” Kennedy said. “We’re doing what we’re calling an Oxford t-shirt this year and it has a double decker bus on it.”
Kennedy said The Lily Pad looked at their sales from last year and noticed the t-shirt was the big seller. But this year they wanted to take their design in a new direction.
“We have people coming all year long looking for Double Decker merchandise and Oxford merchandise so we merged the two,” Kennedy said.
Even though it’s all hands on deck for local businesses, some employees are able to go out and enjoy the festival for themselves once the crowds die down.
“Usually I’m able to go Saturday night or even early Friday morning,” Wilson said. “I’m from Oxford, so I’ve been able to go before. It’s always fun.”

Story contributed by Abbie McIntosh, Brianna Bynum and DeAndria Turner.