Always be prepared — to spend money.
That's the motto area business owners were happy to see thousands of Boy Scouts live by this week during the Boy Scouts of America's National Order of the Arrow Conference, which is being held at MSU.
The conference, which started Saturday, has drawn more than 8,000 people from all over the nation to the sidewalks of Grand River Avenue.
Brandon Fitzgerald, closing manager for Melting Moments, 313 E. Grand River Ave., said the East Lansing hot spot has seen more business in the past week than it typically gets during a week in the school year.
"There's been an absolutely insane amount of business," he said. "I've been working here for a little over two years now, and when I first started working, we were open after close once. Then on Sunday, we were open an hour after close for customers.
"They probably would be going to the bars if they were older, but they're between like 14 and 17."
Douglasville, Ga. natives Jacob Acevedo, 14, Drew McLendon, 13, and Clay Williams, 16, are in town for the conference. They said they stopped at Melting Moments and were making their way toward CVS, 240 M.A.C. Ave., Wednesday afternoon. Drew and Jacob clung to their plastic Beaner's cups filled with water in the hot midday sun.
"We've stayed on campus a lot," Drew said of their experience in East Lansing.
Katrina Beesley, shift leader at the Beaner's Coffee located in the Union, said the conference has led to quadrupled sales, and the cafe has even extended its hours to accommodate the campers.
Tim Dempsey, East Lansing community and economic development administrator, said the conference-goers have definitely had an effect on area eateries.
"They're having a decent impact from what I'm hearing from some of the business owners," Dempsey said. "There's always a slowdown in East Lansing in the summertime, but MSU camps and events bring some new traffic to the area."
Cold Stone Creamery, 200 M.A.C. Ave., hasn't been hurt by the summer slump but definitely pleased to see a spike in business. Tim Beemer, manager and co-owner of the restaurant, said he gets a lot of business with the various sports camps and events on campus throughout the summer, but the Boy Scout conference has brought an unexpected amount of customers.
"There's a ton of them, and I've seen them all over," Beemer said Monday afternoon. "In fact, there's three more that just walked by. They're everywhere."
Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, 360 Albert Ave., is supplying one Buffalo, N.Y. troop with 3,000 wings for a special event in which each troop offers something unique to others from their hometown, general manager Aaron Weiner said. He's seen a growth in business this week, but it's been sporadic, Weiner said.
Cindy Kress, community relations manager for Barnes & Noble, 333 E. Grand River Ave., said she's thrilled at the traffic the Scouts bring the bookstore. She added that high school students on campus for a Michigan Interscholastic Press Association conference are also adding to the store's business.
"We have Boy Scouts and high school journalism girls come in, and it's quite an interesting little mix," she said. "It's funny. We've definitely been seeing some eyelashes batting and the boys getting excited to see the girls."
Kress said any business would be happy to have this sort of traffic in the summer.
"They come in waves — it's like Christmastime," she said. "It's Christmas in the middle of August now. It's busier than what we're used to seeing this time of year. As far as being a retailer … we want this every day."
