MIAMI GARDENS – Jazz in the Gardens provides a huge profit for local vendors.

“I cannot wait, I cannot wait for Jazz in the Gardens!” said Donovan Thompson, the owner of Kingston Delight.

Thompson has been a proud vendor at Jazz in the Gardens since 2006.

“It’s a huge revenue and it goes on every year, so I do look forward to Jazz in the Gardens,” said Thompson.

Thompson and his wife take over two weeks to prepare for Jazz in the Gardens, but they say it’s worth it for the amount of money they make.

“It triples. We go through like 60 cases of chicken on Saturday and then on Sunday we go through like 50 cases of chicken. That’s a lot of chicken!” said Thompson.

The success is no shock to community leaders. Connie Kinnard with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau says the research proved the economic impact it has on the community.

“About 12.3 million in direct spending is what Jazz in the Gardens brings to the community,” said Kinnard.

Which is why Kingston Delight staples, like their jerk chicken recipe, have done so well with crowds over the years.

Thompson says just being at the festival has brought in hundreds of new customers.

“Going to Jazz in the Gardens, they take your card, ‘Where you located at? Where’s your business?’ And stuff like that, and they do come back,” said Thompson.

All that business is music to their ears.

Afterall, back in 2020, businesses lost money due to the festival being canceled.

“It was a hit as far as economics and expectations as I mentioned in 2019. The spending number was around 12.3 million so that means at that time we lost around that much. So, we’re happy to have it back,” said Kinnard.