BATON ROUGE - Businesses are prepping for visitors coming in for the Miss USA pageant despite NBC's decision not to air the show.
Peter Sclafina, Co-Owner and Executive Chef at Ruffino's Catering Hall downtown. He said he's been prepping all week getting ready to welcome the 51 pageant contestants to Baton Rouge.
"We did a great event for them last year with a cooking class, but this year we're doing a premier party so we're really excited and we're really focusing on Louisiana seafood," said Sclafina.
Trimmed trees, freshly painted doors and other repairs are just a few more things that needed to get done before thousands of visitors pack the River Center in just two weeks.
"You know this is our home we want to shine," said David Sanders, GreenSeasons Manager who's company is in charge of handling the landscaping along the Riverfront.
Since NBC decided to cancel the broadcast of the pageant, many in Baton Rouge say they feel it won't effect business, but hotels and restaurant will still get great exposure.
"These girls they've worked so hard to get to this and now they're not getting their chance to shine on natural TV, but we're going to make sure we take care of them while we're here," said Sclafani.