Atlanta small businesses position for World Cup revenue boost

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Atlanta small businesses World Cup

Highlights

Atlanta expects at least 520,000 World Cup spectators over eight matches from June 15 to July 15, driving business preparations and targeted marketing.
Local entrepreneurs like Ona Utuama project $50,000 to $90,000 in tournament revenue by offering country-themed goods and cash-pay health services to international visitors.
Operators such as Scratch Food Group and Eat My Biscuits are investing in upgrades, staffing, and merchandising to capture tournament-driven demand, despite concerns about uneven neighborhood revenue distribution.

Business preparations ahead of the tournament

As first reported by Business Insider, Atlanta is one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with eight matches scheduled from June 15 through July 15 and an estimated 65,000 spectators per match. For owners such as Cyrei Daniel of Sweet Me Good in the Sweet Auburn corridor, the event is prompting grant applications, marketing upgrades, and direct appeals to city leaders over how neighborhood businesses can benefit from the expected influx of visitors.

Daniel, whose bakery sits near the King Center and on the streetcar line to downtown, secured two grants to improve her storefront and promotion before the tournament. Even so, she says signs of the event remain limited on her block just weeks before matches begin, underscoring concern that visitor spending may stay concentrated near the main tourist and stadium areas.

Other entrepreneurs are building targeted offerings around international demand. Ona Utuama, founder of eyewear brand Tribal Eyes and CollabMD Direct Primary Care, is selling country-themed sunglasses and has created a cash-pay clinic model aimed at overseas visitors who do not carry U.S. health insurance. She projects $50,000 to $90,000 in tournament revenue from the two businesses, supported by multilingual telemedicine access, same-day appointments, and outreach through hotels, short-term rentals, and transport drivers.

Brian Lee, founder of Scratch Food Group, is also treating the tournament as both a near-term sales event and a longer-term brand investment. After beginning preparations in late 2024, he secured watch-party and pop-up opportunities, won a Beltline Business Ventures grant, invested $15,000 in equipment and kitchen access, and added staff to support a mobile Scratch Cafe cart that he plans to keep operating after the World Cup ends.

Economic stakes for Atlanta neighborhoods

The tournament is widely viewed by economists and city officials as a major economic opportunity, with the Metro Atlanta Chamber estimating at least 520,000 spectators across all eight games. For neighborhood operators, however, the central issue is not whether visitors arrive, but whether spending reaches commercial districts outside the core event footprint.

That uncertainty is shaping how businesses manage risk. Lee says he chose to develop his own operating plan rather than wait for a city strategy for small businesses, while also acknowledging that the World Cup could still produce little direct benefit for some operators because of the many unknowns tied to visitor flows and purchasing patterns.

For some owners, the stakes are especially high because trading conditions were already difficult before the tournament buildup began. Eat My Biscuits owner Vanetta Roy, based in East Point near the airport, has launched merchandise, refreshed staff uniforms, added a limited-edition menu item, and improved her Google Business Profile to attract international travelers searching for food nearby.

Roy is also operating under financial pressure. A September 2025 CBS News Atlanta report said she lost about $200,000 from the prior year after a beautification project placed a fence in front of her restaurant and reduced street visibility, forcing layoffs and leaving rent behind. With Atlanta's last event of similar scale dating to the 1996 Olympics, many owners are now watching whether public promises that this tournament will distribute gains more broadly translate into measurable revenue for small local businesses.

In our earlier article on the slowdown in U.S. homebuilding, we noted that higher mortgage rates and rising construction-material costs were pushing single-family and multi-family starts lower and keeping builders cautious. We also highlighted that tariff-related cost pressures can filter through to housing-linked purchases, adding to the financial strain on households and local economies.

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