TEXAS \u2014 Texas State University\u2019s move to the reformed Pac-12 Conference is expected to bring more visitors and national attention to San Marcos, and local businesses are preparing for what could be a busier year.<\/p>\n
For Rogelio\u2019s Restaurant, the transition is another chapter in a relationship with Texas State that spans decades.<\/p>\n
The family-owned Mexican restaurant was founded 28 years ago by Pablo Nieto\u2019s parents, Rogelio and Bernarda Nieto.<\/p>\n
Nieto, a Texas State graduate, has operated the business for the past five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey built their business around good food, hard work and treating customers like family,\u201d Nieto said.<\/p>\n
Texas State students, professors and alumni have long been part of the restaurant\u2019s customer base. Nieto said he has watched generations of students graduate and later return with their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun to see generations progress, graduate, and they bring their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Now, Nieto sees the move to the Pac-12 as an opportunity to introduce Rogelio\u2019s and other San Marcos businesses to visitors from across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to expose us to fans all across the country, so that they can discover San Marcos local shops like mine and see what makes San Marcos and Central Texas unique,\u201d Nieto said.<\/p>\n
The City of San Marcos recently brought local businesses together for a Pac-12 informational session focused on preparing for the conference\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
Helen Ramirez, the city\u2019s director of economic and local business development, said the goal was to help businesses understand what the conference could mean for the local economy and how they can prepare.<\/p>\n
The session included representatives from Texas State Athletics, the university\u2019s communications and marketing team, the city, community safety officials and the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, according to Ramirez.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said the impact could extend beyond football.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe impact of the Pac-12 is not only in football, but it\u2019s also basketball and baseball and softball,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
Texas State will have seven home football games, but the city expects more visitors and alumni to come to San Marcos throughout the year as different sports compete in the conference.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said businesses that prepare early could be better positioned to take advantage of the increased activity.<\/p>\n
That could include ordering additional supplies, offering game-day specials or menu items, participating in Pac-12-related merchandising and making sure their websites and social media accounts are ready for visitors researching where to eat and what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re already seeing that effect,\u201d Ramirez said, describing an example shared at the business meeting in which a visiting team reserved a restaurant for its entire team during a previous Texas State home game.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine if we\u2019re prepared, then we\u2019ll be able to make more revenue, sell more, and just be more successful as a community and as a business,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said the potential economic impact also goes beyond what happens on game day.<\/p>\n
She said visitors may arrive Friday and stay through Sunday, creating opportunities for restaurants, retailers and other local businesses to benefit from visitors exploring San Marcos.<\/p>\n
The city also expects increased national media exposure as Pac-12 games are televised, Ramirez said. She said media coverage could feature locations around San Marcos besides the university and its athletic facilities.<\/p>\n
For Nieto, that exposure could give visitors another reason to explore the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think those fans are going to come hungry, and they\u2019re going to want to discover local restaurants, shop around and, yeah, enjoy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rogelio\u2019s is already preparing by increasing staffing, preparing food in larger quantities and checking its equipment and inventory, Nieto said.<\/p>\n
The goal, he said, is to make visiting fans feel welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making sure that we\u2019re getting our ends buttoned up so that we can host people and make sure that they experience a little part of the southern hospitality over in Texas,\u201d Nieto said.<\/p>\n
For a business that has grown alongside generations of Texas State students, the Pac-12 represents another opportunity to introduce San Marcos to a new audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to have everybody come and explore San Marcos,\u201d Nieto said. \u201cI hope that you come discover us and other local restaurants here in town and see what makes San Marcos unique.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEXAS \u2014 Texas State University\u2019s move to the reformed Pac-12 Conference is expected to bring more visitors and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":993275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[398132,5229,359,64,5281,1596,31126,50,7202,7203,358,262330,41035,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5284],"class_list":["post-993274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-agustin-garfias","tag-america","tag-austin","tag-business","tag-ctv","tag-dallas","tag-el-paso","tag-news","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-texas","tag-texas-editors-picks","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-vod"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117071964032920351","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=993274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/993275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=993274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=993274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=993274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}