Revenue gets boost as wins pile up

Chapel Hill businesses are experiencing economic success as sweet as the long line of Tar Heel victories as fans flock to stores and eateries to convert their devotion to their sports teams into dollar signs.

“When they win, I win,” said Shelton Henderson, owner of the Shrunken Head Boutique, at 155 E. Franklin St., which specializes in Tar Heel memorabilia.

And UNC’s teams have been winning — both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in their NCAA tournaments.

“Our business since the start of the NCAA Tournament has doubled per day,” said John Hudson, co-owner of Carolina Pride, at 151 E. Franklin St.

Stephan Johanson, general manager of Hams of Chapel Hill, at 310 W. Franklin St., said the restaurant’s revenue has increased about 30 percent during the last year.

“You would probably think you were in the Dean Dome if you were here,” he said.

Merchants attribute the increases in business success to UNC’s athletic successes, but some are disappointed in the amount of support the community has shown for the Tar Heel ladies.

“We had an increase in women’s sales, but it’s nothing like the men’s nationals,” Henderson said.

Merchants reported varying athletic hallmarks as the start of the sales increases.

Hudson said the increase in business started after the football team’s win over Miami in October.

But Greg Morton, associate director of UNC Student Stores, said the boon started with “Late Night with Roy” earlier that month.

Local businesses now are focused on the NCAA tournaments and their magical effect on sales revenue.

Hudson said he predicts that if UNC wins the national tournament, the store will experience 10 times its normal amount of business.

“I’m going to make my mom work in the store if we win the national tournament, and she’s 74,” he said.

Morton said apparel sales revenue increased about 15 percent because of the recent victories.

Student Stores is placing orders as fast as it can for Final Four T-shirts for the men’s tournament so that they can be ready for the fans the morning after the hoped-for win. Ordering in advance is always a gamble because the store has to order the shirts two weeks before the actual events.

But Morton is confident that UNC will be successful.

Shirts are printed locally the night of the game, while the store scrambles to prepare the sales floor and the staff for the order.

Morton has ordered almost 40,000 T-shirts. He expects to sell between 60,000 and 65,000 shirts — a 10 to 15 percent increase over the sales from the 1993 national championship victory. “All the money we do make, we throw into student scholarships,” he said.

In 1993, the sales generated $250,000 for scholarships, Morton said.

“To me, it’s a very rewarding as well as fun time.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.