Oak Hill, WV (WOAY) – Bridge Day’s crowd numbers in the tens of thousands every October, and organizers expect this year to be no different.
The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce estimates 120,000 people came to Bridge Day in 2025, nearly three times the population of Charleston. For businesses in the region, that crowd delivers a major boost just as tourism season begins to wind down.
“Bridge Day equals like 2 to 3 weeks of like the summer tourist season,” said Abedelfattah Mihrim, owner of Appalachian Outpost in Oak Hill.
The festival itself lasts only six hours, but visitors need more than a spot on the bridge.
“They all need places to stay … they all need places to eat. They all want to shop places,” said Paul Witt, general manager of the Quality Inn and Sleep Inn.
Lodging in the region books up fast, and Witt said Bridge Day weekend ranks among the busiest of the year.
“Bridge Day is predominantly a Fayette County event. And both of our hotels over there, again, the Holiday Lodge and the Comfort Inn, are just about booked up … The economic impact and the tourist demand flows over in Nicholas County,” Witt said.
At Cafe One Ten in Oak Hill, owner Don Williams is getting ready for those visitors with all hands on deck and a bigger food order.
“We always see extra business. Last year was just crazy. I mean, it was like one of the busiest days of the year,” Williams said.
Williams said his food costs keep climbing and he can’t raise prices every time they do, so a rush like Bridge Day helps make up the difference.
“When you have a big weekend and you have the same amount of staff, when you do double the business … it helps … So I expect that’ll be the whole weekend, you know, Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
At Appalachian Outpost, Mihrim stocks up well beyond a normal week, leaning on his local vendors.
“When people are in for Bridge Day, they look for local stuff. So they’re not interested after the Reese’s bar or like the mainstream products. They want something to represent West Virginia as a state and as a community and culture as well,” Mihrim said.
For many small businesses in the area, the season winds down after Bridge Day, and what they earn that weekend has to stretch.
“The cushion that we rely on is the weekend for Bridge Day. It gives us enough revenue just to help support our winter bills,” said Mihrim. “Bridge Day is a really good thing and seeing it growing every year is definitely massive and it benefits us as business owners. And also we are local business owners, so we take care of the community as well. So it’s not just helping me as a business owner, it’s helping the community as a whole.”
