While the majority of the businesses located in Covington serve different purposes, they are  bound together by one characteristic — each one thrives off local tourism.

Just last year, 118,278 people visited the Covington Welcome Center alone, a number that has been rapidly increasing since 2021.

Being located in the heart of Covington brings a lot of tourists into Zac Johnston’s establishment, Bread and Butter Bakery.

“Tourism has been huge for us as a business and for all the downtown merchants, especially,” Johnston said. “Just a different diversity of the types of people that come here, in regards to from all over the world. And it’s just really cool to bring [in] all different people.”

At the intersection of Washington and Monticello Street, Johnston is hard at work, preparing coffee and conversing with customers. 

“I think that’s the backbone of what differentiates yourself as a business,” Johnston said. “I think it is to be able to build relationships.”

Aside from the exceptional hospitality and warm weather, many people travel to Covington to see landmarks featured in their favorite movies and television shows. The city housed the sets for “Remember The Titans,” “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Cannonball Run.” 

However, the most sought after sites are those for “The Vampire Diaries,” which was primarily filmed in Covington.

“In regards to a tourist, the biggest thing that draws is the movies,” Johnston said. “Right now, the most popular one is ‘The Vampire Diaries.’”

Local merchants have taken advantage of the city’s draw, with several owners modeling their businesses after the popular show. A few spaces down from Bread and Butter Bakery sits Vampire Stalkers/Mystic Falls Tours, a business that provides fans with a tour of the show’s most popular scenes. 

Tour guide manager Amber Chandler said majority of her clients come from around the world, such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. To help remember these unique experiences, her coworker keeps a book with the personalized signatures of everyone who visits. 

“It’s actually one of the journals from the show and then she gets people to sign it,” Chandler said. “So that’s a really cool thing to have.”

When visiting a new place, it is standard to return home with a piece of memorabilia. Tourists revel in the opportunity to showcase their adventures and enjoy owning something to commemorate them. Oftentimes, this will be fulfilled by purchasing a t-shirt, such as one found at Rush Tees & Signs. 

“A lot of the customers that we print for, the business that we print for, some of them are directly related to the tourist trades,” said co-owner of Rush Tees & Signs, Taylor Barnett. “So tourism is actually a really big part of our business, once we break it down and look where the end product is.” 

When walking down the streets of downtown Covington, one cannot help but notice the ‘small-town feel’ it radiates. The Victorian architecture and friendliness of the business owners create a welcoming environment for outsiders visiting the area. 

“We try to treat people like people,” Johnston said. “Unfortunately, that’s kind of a lost thing in society now, as it’s all transactional and people become numbers. And so if somebody is going to spend the time to get out of their car, to choose a local small business, we want to give them at least 30 seconds and treat them like people, and ask them about their day and try to make [it] just a little bit better.”