CRESTVIEW — The Triple B Cookoff, the Hub City's top event, pays tribute to the Blackwater River area, its bluegrass music and local grill masters' barbecue.
And the combination of these B's attracts some 12,000 people, from here and out of town, to the annual event on Main Street.
It's a real "shot in the arm" for the local economy, event Chairman Derek Lott said.
"Of those 12,000 people, if you just took a guess that, to do simple math, roughly 3,000 families of four (attended), and if that family spent $50, that's roughly $150,000 that's spent on Main Street that day," he said.
Those numbers bode well for vendors, who are guaranteed to see a return on their initial investment, which could be $160, if they compete in all categories — chicken, ribs, pulled pork and brisket — and $150 cleanup deposit.
And then some.
"Some of our vendors that are there selling their barbecue products and so forth that day make anywhere upwards to $10,000 profit in sales," Lott said. Some vendors "normally have a storefront, brick-and-mortar restaurant that come that day … so they could have that extra shot in the arm of their income."
As for some of the event's major sponsors, such as Hub City Ford and Lee Buick GMC? The extra exposure can bring otherwise unexpected sales.
"One of our good chamber members, Dale Henderson, he often sells numerous cars that day," Lott said. "So the price of admission for him to be on Main Street that day and to have all these people walking right in front of him and his cars, versus being at his car lot and waiting for these customers to walk by there … that is a huge, huge benefit for him."
"There's many opportunities that the Triple B has to help Crestview and the Main Street area, those people, make some money and get a little short in the arm of a little extra cash," Lott said.
Email News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Triple B: Attendees could spend more than $100K in downtown Crestview