Mount Pleasant businesses prepare for Homecoming weekend

Mount Pleasant resident Jessica Trawick talks with customers as she cleans up a table while waitressing Tuesday afternoon at Buffalo Wild Wings, 1904 South Mission Street. “We usually get busy around homecoming, but all of us on staff help each other out,” Trawick said. “We’re like family.” (Charlotte Bodak/Assistant Photo Editor)

Mount Pleasant businesses are preparing for a busy Homecoming weekend.

Buffalo Wild Wings, 1904 S. Mission St., is expecting a big weekend, restaurant general manager Michael Miller said.

“As a store, we are planning on upping the inventory, and we are anticipating big sales this weekend,” he said. “We are also going to probably bump our staff for the weekend, but we always are on full staff for weekends rushes because it is such high volume.”

CMU hosts Ball State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, and, while Miller expects a large crowd for that game, Michigan-Michigan State is also slated to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Businesses are expecting a similar atmosphere downtown.

Ben Breidenstein, manager at the Bird Bar and Grill, 223 S. Main St., is anticipating a strong breakfast crowd after the 11 a.m. parade.

“We will be open early for the breakfast to catch the parade crowd,” Breidenstein said. “We know it is going to be a very busy weekend, and we have the right people to help us contain the crowds, and not overfill capacity during the night-time.”

But in most ways, the Bird will operate similar to the Sept. 8 weekend in which Michigan State University came to town.

“If anything, we treated the MSU vs. CMU game basically like homecoming. So we have been planning on two homecomings this year,” Breidenstein said.

Also downtown, Max and Emily’s, 125 E. Broadway St., is expecting a good crowd for the parade, owner Tim Brockman said.

“We always have a nice crowd for the homecoming parade downtown,” Brockman said. “We have the tables downtown, so a place to sit, and, over the last 17 years, it has become a meeting place for people.”

Catering is another thing Max and Emily’s is focusing on as some people order catering at the football game itself.

“We are fully staffed that weekend, and so that is no different than any other weekend,” Brockman said. “We also do catering up at the Kelly/Shorts stadium, so all hands will be on deck.”

Crowds tend to shift depending on the events and the time of the day, he said.

“People come down here earlier than normal, so we always get a very nice crowd for the parade,” Brockman said. “And this year, it’s a little bit nicer, because the parade is later in the day, and it gives people plenty of time to get down to the stadium and tailgate.”