INDIANAPOLIS --- Night One of The Eras Tour brought thousands of Swifties to Indy on Friday, and local businesses were just excited as fans to welcome all the hype to the Circle City.
“I’m a huge fan of all the greatness she’s brought to all of the communities,” said Cheryl Shifflett, a Swifite from Ohio.
She is among 200,000 fans expected to visit the city for the weekend.
“You have the influx of new eyes and new opportunities to put your brand in front people from all over the world,” said Catherine Esselman, who owns Cat Consulting and helps run the Index.
It’s the city’s new official visitors center located right across from the convention center that brings together collections from major museum gift shops under one roof, along with locally produced and modern handmade items from Indiana artists.
The shop is one of many local businesses taking advantage of the tour's buzz.
“This weekend we’ve really focused on all things Taylor swift, we have leaned into our local economy to produce some great t-shirts, some earrings, some bracelets, candles,” Essleman told WRTV.
She says they had a line waiting outside their shop Friday morning and sold out of some merchandise after just over an hour. They plan to restock for Saturday.
8th Day Distillery is also joining in on the excitement. The cocktail bar in the Factory Arts District is offering Swifitie Nights.
Patrons can make friendship bracelets for free, have T- Swift themed drinks, take photos, enjoy Taylor Swift’s music and even snag some merch.
“200,000 people is a lot of new faces coming to Indianapolis this weekend and for small businesses it means so much just to be able to get our name out there,” said the Bar’s Manager Kayleigh Rayburn. “While they’re talking about Taylor Swift I get to talk to them about what we do here.”
“I think supporting the communities while you’re in them is really important to build up the area,” added Shifflett.
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