Warren Buffett” width=”757″ height=”515″ data-caption=’Berkshire Hathaway shareholders pose with a stand-up picture of Warren Buffett during the 2019 annual shareholders meeting. <span class=”lazyload media-credit”>AFP via Getty Images</span>’>
The busiest time of year for Gorat’s Steak House in Omaha, Neb. isn’t Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or the holiday season. It’s every first weekend of May, when tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders descend upon the city to attend the conglomerate’s annual shareholder meeting, often dubbed the “Woodstock of Capitalism.”
The event delivers a massive business surge to Gorat’s, the steak house famously favored by Warren Buffett, generating one to two months’ worth of revenue in just a few days. Gorat’s begins taking reservations for the meeting on Feb. 1 each year and temporarily brings in friends, family and former employees to handle the influx. “It’s basically the Super Bowl of service for us,” Joshua Saligheh, executive chef at Gorat’s, told Observer.
Buffett, 94, has long been synonymous with his hometown. He still lives in the same house he bought more than six decades ago and is regularly seen dining and driving around Omaha. Since 1970, the so-called “Oracle of Omaha” has kept Berkshire Hathaway headquartered in the city and has made Omaha the enduring site of its annual shareholder meeting. While Buffett announced his retirement at this year’s meeting, locals are confident his legacy—and the crowds who come to celebrate it—aren’t going anywhere.
Last year’s shareholder meeting generated more than $21 million in tourism revenue for Omaha, and this year’s figure is expected to have surpassed that, according to Deborah Ward, executive director of Visit Omaha. This year’s conference also led to a 3 percent year-over-year uptick in hotel occupancy, with 95 percent of Omaha’s hotel rooms sold out on May 2 and May 3, said Ward.
All of this suggests that the appeal of the Berkshire shareholder meeting is still growing. Local business owners believe that momentum will continue even after Buffett’s retirement. “I actually think it’ll become bigger, because what these people are here to do in town is to follow in his footsteps,” said Saligheh. The bulk of Gorat’s customers, for example, order the exact meal favored by Buffett himself—a rare T-bone steak with a double side of hash browns, a cherry Coke and, occasionally, a root beer float.
The annual surge in local business especially benefits ventures directly tied to Berkshire Hathaway, Saligheh noted. Subsidiaries like Nebraska Furniture Mart and Dairy Queen see massive spikes in sales. Beyond the main Berkshire meeting, the first weekend of May also draws additional gatherings and sidebar conferences from companies capitalizing on their time in Omaha—contributing further to the city’s economic boost.
Buffett’s outspoken affection for Omaha has turned the city into a year-round destination for Berkshire fans. At Gorat’s, about two-thirds of the restaurant’s guests typically come from out of town, according to Saligheh.
It’s also common for travelers to swing through Omaha just to visit landmarks like Buffett’s childhood home, said Ernie Goss, an economics professor at Creighton University, based in Omaha. Goss noted that Buffett has given his hometown rare visibility. “It’s probably one of the more solid corporate-to-community ties and linkages than most any business in America,” he told Observer.
The relationship between Omaha and Berkshire is also a two-way street. While the city gains millions from the conglomerate’s annual conference, Berkshire benefits from the city’s low-key, trustworthy and Midwestern image, said Goss. “The tentacles of Omaha go into Berkshire Hathaway.”
Locals are adamant that even with Buffett no longer serving as Berkshire’s leader, the company’s commitment to Omaha will endure. “It’s hard to think of the first weekend in May without Berkshire Hathaway, but it’s also hard for the tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders who make the pilgrimage every year to think of the first weekend of May without Omaha,” said Ward. “Omaha is home for Berkshire Hathaway—the two go hand in hand.”
