MACON, Ga. — With Thanksgiving only 11 days away, some parts of Macon are already getting in the Christmas spirit. On Sunday, downtown Macon saw the annual Christmas tree lighting at Fall Line Brewing Co. kicking off the festivities.
Jesse Law is a manager at Parish on Cherry and said the downtown Christmas lights is great for their business.
"Definitely the busiest time of the year for us, absolutely," he said.
For them, he said the restaurant really picks up in December, but also the end of November when the light shows begin.
"When the Christmas lights come up, it's huge for us. It really brings just a lot of extra people, people come from all over to see these Christmas lights, especially when they get the music playing with it," Law said.
For some businesses, the extra foot traffic means they'll have to add more staff, and for some businesses it means they'll stay open later to greet more customers.
At Your Pie's downtown location, General Manager Candis Wilburn said they're already getting ready for the rush that's coming.
"First we start training our staff to get ready for the numbers and the business that's coming in. Obviously we're ordering more product and we're just, we're ready to rock and roll for it man," Wilburn said.
For them, staying prepared for longer lines means doubling their staff each Christmas season, to keep up with customers.
"Last year, we crunched some numbers and figured out that during the Christmas lights season, it accounts for about 14% of our sales for the year in just about six weeks," Wilburn said.
Law said they're also adding more staff to make a successful holiday season, that will hopefully create more regular customers.
"So everything's about word of mouth. And we wanna make sure every customer has a great experience here, great fine dining, and leave happy. That way they talk about our place and bring more new people back to us," Law said.
Wilburn said she's excited to see more of their regular customers this year, that they gained from previous year's light shows.
"They'll stop in Your Pie for the first time cause they'll come to see the lights, and they don't stop coming back. It's a great atmosphere," she said.
While Downtown Macon held its annual Christmas tree lighting on Sunday, the official opening night for the main attraction lights is on Friday, November 29 at 6:00 p.m.