ROGERS, Ark. — Bikes, Blues, and BBQ (BBB) officially kicked off in Rogers and Eureka Springs on Sept. 18.
Rogers Mayor Greg Hines said around 275,000 people visit the region for the charitable event. With the influx of visitors, it can bring a sizeable boost to the local economy.
Maria Smith is the owner of the restaurant Lasang Pinoy in downtown Rogers. Last year, she was planning to open a restaurant on the corner of 8th and Walnut Street, but severe storms over Memorial Day weekend delayed this development.
"We had hoped to open in June, and then things got delayed, so we were looking at October [or] November. Well, then the tornadoes happened, and that ruined all those plans, so it's still under repair right now," Smith said. "It doesn't look like our restaurant will be open until maybe March of next year."
In the meantime, their restaurant is at Proof Downtown.
"This place is designed as an incubator for new restaurant ideas and because of the damage to our restaurant, [Proof owner Hannah Sione] allowed us to come in here for three months instead of the normal 30 days," Smith said. "We've been here since August. We'll be here to the end of October."
With Bikes, Blues, and BBQ within walking distance from her restaurant, she is expecting more people than normal this weekend. They're altering the menu this week, which is something they normally do every two weeks.
Smith said they have lumpia Shanghai, veggie balls, rellenong manok, pancit, and more.
"We've got a lot of new things that that we're testing out, and we're just really excited about the opportunity to share our cuisine and our culture,” Smith said.
Hines said the overall estimated economic impact for this weekend will be $15.4 million. BBB will run through Saturday evening.
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