NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's going to be a busy summer in Nashville with lots of big events like CMA Fest, Fourth of July and the Music City Grand Prix to name a few.
Not the pandemic or inflation is stopping in the sights and sounds on Lower Broadway for CMA Fest, and that is exactly what small business owners said they need to stay afloat.
"It cost several $100 to fill the truck up," said Tennessee Cobbler owner Jami Joe. "But people also have to understand that we also have to purchase propane to operate the equipment side as well as the fuel to operate the truck itself. So several $100 from the fuel alone."
She opened her food truck back in 2016 with her husband.
They managed to survive the pandemic, but now are struggling with skyrocketing prices and supply shortages.
But they are getting by they said, in part to big events like CMA Fest.
Joe's food truck joined several others lining downtown at this weekend's events.
They're all hoping this four-day event can help them get through these tough times.
"Food costs go up, and of course, being a food truck, we have to utilize gas and propane and all those different things because they definitely have risen in the past few months. So that's been a struggle, but that's why events like CMA are so important to us because these events help us kind of float in the next few months," Joe said.
CMA Fest is the city's largest annual tourism event. In 2019, the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium were sold out. More than 50,000 people were in attendance each night.
The event in 2019 was a record-breaking year, generating $65 million in direct visitor spending for the four-day festival.
