Natour, 63, made the decision to close his iconic Union Avenue restaurant on Saturdays to spend more time with his family. Although he'll stay closed on Saturday, he still expects a big weekend for the sold-out festival.
After canceling the 2020 and 2021 festivals because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some 30,000 people could descend on downtown Knoxville starting Thursday.
That would be a 30% to 35% increase in attendance over 2019, according to Big Ears Executive Director Ashley Capps. Those added visitors will spend more on hotels, food, drinks and fun.
An estimated 30%-35% more visitors will descend on downtown Knoxville for the return of Big Ears. That means more hotel stays, more meals out and more adult beverages consumed. After this year's festival, downtown merchants can expect a better measure of how the acclaimed festival impacted the city economically.
To better understand the economic role downtown's most important festival plays, Big Ears is partnering with a new accounting firm to measure the financial impact. That should help restaurants, bars and stores better anticipate where and when future Big Ears visitors will spend their money.
Natour, son Joey, and two other cooks crack about 500 eggs on an average day at Pete's. Will they beat the 1,000-egg record on Thursday or Friday?
āIt's crazy. I hope everybody will come back this year,ā Natour said. āI know they wonāt get to eat (at Peteās) on Saturdays, but there's other fine restaurants downtown they can patronize.ā
In partnership with Visit Knoxville, Big Ears determined the festival's economic impact on Knoxville in 2019 was more than $12.7 million. Guests filled more than 5,600 hotel rooms that weekend.
With more visitors this time around comes a larger economic impact and more hotel room stays.
About 70% of festival attendees will be out-of-town visitors, said Michele Hummel, Downtown Knoxville Alliance executive director.
To catch the eyes of those visitors, dozens of downtown businesses will feature free events, demonstrations and live music to "add to the festival experience," according to a list curated by Downtown Knoxville.
The Art Market Gallery on Gay Street will show a special "Artistic Harmonies" exhibit Saturday where patrons can meet the local artists.
"We've really missed (Big Ears)," said Brenda Mills, the director of the marketing committee at the Art Market. "It's really fabulous for downtown."
Pedestrians and vehicles travel down Gay Street in this slow shutter speed photograph from the Hyatt Place Five Thirty Lounge in downtown Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, March 11, 2022.
Mills, who's been a member of the gallery for 35 years, said many artists were inactive during the pandemic. Introducing customers from around the world to local artists will be a welcome opportunity after the last few years.
Brian Strutz, Knoxville Independent Restaurant Coalition chair and A Dopo Sourdough Pizza owner, said if a restaurant is not within walking distance of the festival, "it really doesn't move the needle."
Strutz's restaurant is located in the Old City, where festival goers can find performances at Boyd's Jig & Reel, The Mill & Mine and other venues. Some of the larger venues, including the Tennessee Theatre and the Bijou Theatre, are closer to the Market Square area.
Strutz told Knox News it seems like Big Ears is going "above and beyond" to promote downtown this year by including businesses on the official map.
Measuring Big Ears' economic impact
A view of Market Square as seen from The Radius Rooftop Lounge atop Embassy Suites in downtown Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, March 11, 2022.
To help businesses better understand how to take advantage of the festival in years to come, Big Ears has hired economic analysis firm AngelouEconomics to collect better data over the next several years.
The new metrics collected, Capps said, will be "more in-depth" and focus on who comes to Big Ears and how they spend money and time in Knoxville.
"We know a lot of this information simply from our business partners and our restaurant partners in the community," Capps said. "We don't have the metrics to support it, it's just anecdotal information."
Big Ears will generate revenue for downtown businesses, but it also serves as a great introduction to downtown Knoxville.
Capps said the festival showcases the city's spirit, something he hopes could persuade University of Tennessee at Knoxville students to stay after graduating.
Visitors chat at The Bar inside the Hyatt Place in downtown Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, March 11, 2022.
"I think (the festival is) opening up many of the young people, especially who live here, to some experiences that they might not otherwise have access to," Capps said. "That's inspirational. And it's very hard to measure that in terms of metrics. In fact, it's really impossible."
Hummel said the festival can be a good introduction as Knoxville's tourism and hospitality industries grow.
Major tourism investments now underway, including Topgolf and the multiuse stadium in the Old City, could entice Big Ears visitors to come back for a longer stay.