Big game, big business: Central Mississippi feels Ole Miss-LSU impact

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Fans across the Metro are preparing for the Ole Miss-LSU matchup, and the excitement is translating into business for Central Mississippi companies more than 100 miles from Oxford.

Campbell’s Bakery is seeing increased demand ahead of the game.

“It’s definitely way busier than usual. I know this is a big competitive game, which I’m sure helped kind of put fire behind it,” said Ebony Jones, manager at Campbell’s Bakery. “We had a big increase in custom orders because, last year, it was like a first come, first serve if you didn’t make the cut. So, a lot of people kind of prepared early.”

Bakery increases production

The bakery has increased production of its popular items, including a Rebel-themed touch.

“We have one guy, his sole job eight hours a day is to make our tea cakes...he can pump out 1,000 tea cakes easy,” Jones said.

The bakery is fulfilling pickup orders while also stocking extra items in cases for customers not traveling to the game.

“We always just kind of look at the past years and then we also follow social media. It’s like a big deal when we see who’s fired up about something. We kind of feed off of that and we knew that this was going to be big,” Jones said.

Mother-daughter button business grows

Social media attention is also driving business for Pigskin Pins, a gameday button company started by a local mother-daughter duo, Sydney Kirk Vaughn and Lisa Patti, during the Rebels’ playoff run last season.

“Probably the most popular are the styles that kind of support but also kind of poke fun. So I have one that says ‘My coach doesn’t do hot yoga’... obviously Pete Golding, my rendition of Pete Golding. And Lane Kiffin loves to do hot yoga, so I thought that was funny,” said Sydney Kirk Vaughn, co-owner, Pigskin Pins.

Pigskin Pins has seen increased demand ahead of Kiffin’s first return to campus since his exit.

“I feel like people are really wanting to show up and show out for the state and are all about getting the pins...it’s just a fun, you know, just good old rivalry way to get people involved,” Vaughn said. “But I for sure have had people say, ‘Oh my goodness, do you have any more Lane buttons? Do you have any more? Like I need this game for this. I need this for this game.’”

The economic impact of the game extends beyond Oxford’s city limits.

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