SPOKANE, Wash. — Walk into River Park Square you'll find a large banner promoting Hoopfest. Walk a little higher to the food court and you'll find Indigenous Eats. Jenny Slagle is the owner of the mall's newest restaurant.
"This opportunity in the food court opened so we jumped at it," said Slagle.
It's been open for less than two weeks and Jenny has to get ready for the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Slagle said, "We're not quite sure what to expect, but we've been told we're going to be bombarded."
Visit Spokane expects more than 16,000 players and $47 million in revenue to the city. Slagle can't wait to see what happens.
"We're really hoping this weekend offsets the cost of opening," said Slagle.
Cochinito Taqueria also knows the impact from Hoopfest. Unlike Indigenous Eats, they've been downtown for the past five years.
"We're preparing by doing extra stock for working an extra day on Sunday, we're doing more preparations for our cocktails," said Rata Vigil, the restaurant's manager.
Vigil and her team aren't even worried about the crowds.
She said, "It's gonna be a little bit of a longer wait but we move really fast."
As for Slagle, River Park Square is a dream come true.
"I am nervously excited," she said.
The Hoopfest crowds is a challenge Slagle is ready to face.
Some other businesses tell me they expect to make most of their profits for this quarter from this weekend.
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