Cliff Hare and his wife Emily closed up shop at their business, Auburn Art, 40 minutes before kickoff Nov. 30.
They sprinted through downtown and across campus, making it to the stadium just in time to see the Iron Bowl begin. One second before the game ended, Chris Davis ran back a missed field goal 109 yards to give Auburn the win, 34-28.
Ready for the influx of business Cliff knew what was coming, he and his wife sprinted back to open the shop again.
After the success of last season, Cliff and other downtown businesses are preparing for another big year on The Plains.
"It turned out to be such an incredible year, we almost weren't prepared for it," Cliff said. "So this year we are trying our best to be prepared for anything and hope that we have a repeat of last year."
City revenues see a notable spike during football season, according to Auburn Public Affairs director David Dorton.
Like the businesses, Auburn public safety officials are preparing to handle the traffic flow and influx of people brought in Saturdays. But the preparations are more than just getting ready for money.
"Football season is not just economics," Dorton said. "The whole community loves our football."
In 2011, after Auburn won their second national championship, there was a big increase in business, said Aaron Kelley, assistant manager of 17-16. This year, he is expecting the same thing.
17-16 has been stocking up on beer, liquor and ice, and making sure the employees are ready for game days this past week. They are also adding amenities to their renovated back bar area.
The investments in business return well, and Kelley estimates nearly half of their business comes from game days.
"During the offseason we're pretty busy as well," Kelley said. "But game days are just an extra bonus."
In the back room of Auburn Art, paper-wrapped rectangle packages and boxes crowd an already full storage room. Cliff is unloading more inventory, finding nooks and crannies for the art and memorabilia that will later be on the walls of Auburn fans.
Cliff is an Auburn businessman. He understands how important game days are for the students and fans, and how important the football season is for the local economy.
Despite the majority of the year's income for downtown businesses coming from the end of August to the end of November, Cliff said many of the downtown businesses collaborate to give the Auburn Family prices they can all afford.
"We are in the mindset that we would rather everyone have art and enjoy it, rather than us make a killing off of everybody," Cliff said. "I think that downtown contributes to that, and we do a lot of special things that you don't see in other college towns. We have a special touch that we try and do for everybody."
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