LYNCHBURG, Va. – It's business as usual for the Water Dog owner, Dave Henderson.
"What we want to focus on is continuing to put our best foot forward and certainly that customer's experience is what I'm most focused on," Henderson said.
But when you've got 15,000 people coming to your city, you've got to approach business a tad bit differently.
"Our chef and our team have been preparing in terms of seeing a higher volume of customers. From that perspective, that means we are ordering more from our providers," Henderson said.
The restaurant has created a menu to welcome State Games of America athletes and their families.
At the LaHaye building, on Liberty University's campus, volunteers with Lynchburg's economic development and tourism office have helped local businesses along the way.
"We did some training for restaurant and retail to make sure your businesses was listed on Google and Yelp and all those things that can easily find them and get out in the community," Anna Bentson, assistant director, said.
Virginia Amateur sports officials say the competition could generate anywhere from $8 million to $10 million for the city.
It's a boost the Water Dog hopes to benefit from, too. So let the games begin.
"Hopefully we'll see an increase in revenue anywhere from 10% to 30%, daily revenue, but we're excited either way to get some new guests to come to the restaurant," Henderson said.
There will be a tailgate party on Friday at 4 p.m. followed by the opening ceremony at 7 p.m.. These events are open to the public. For more information click here.