TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Zack Wise has served specialty pizza in Downtown Terre Haute for over a decade, while seeing a lot of changes.
He said He’s looking forward to even more change that can ultimately help his business.
“The convention center, I think, will be a boom bringing outside people in to see what we have,” Wise said.
Mayor Duke Bennett said Terre Haute is expecting to draw over a 1 million visitors a year, with a convention center and casino in the works. The city wants businesses to be ready for it.
“The Open for Tourism initiative between our office, the Chamber of Commerce, Launch [Terre Haute] and the city is really helping our independent business owners that have already made an investment here in Terre Haute, be ready for this increased tourism,” said Courtney Chipol of the West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center.
Sycamore Winery is one business that is jumping on the opportunity of expanding into downtown.
“Last year we drew in several thousand people just to our remote winery. We feel downtown we can probably bring in even more and have a bigger impact,” said co-owner, Daniel Pigg.
Although the convention center and casino are still yet to come, it’s never too early to get ahead.
“We just want to be proactive to make sure we really are able to see the full impact of the tourism of the people making the weekend trips and starting to see Terre Haute as a destination,” said Chipol.
Open for Tourism offers features, like consultation to get businesses in the right position to attract new customers.
