Downtown's hustle, bustle is locked out after dark
thager@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5534
When you read this, downtown Beaufort's Holiday Weekend will be winding to a close. But while I write it, it's yet to start. Given access to this rip in the space-time continuum, I'm taking the liberty of proclaiming the last three days a success, even though they haven't happened yet.
I have no doubt crowds turned out for Friday's Night on the Town event and Saturday's Light Up the Night boat parade. I'm also certain today's old-fashioned parade will be a hit. Hopefully, the large crowds will mean big money for the downtown merchants. And good for them. They need it.
Last Saturday, I ate dinner downtown, and the place was dead. The restaurant at which I was dining closed early. The bars seemed to be doing good business -- booze never slumps -- but the streets were empty.
The problem is, of course, people shop on the weekends. And, for the most part, they shop in Bluffton or Charleston or Wal-Mart, or anywhere other than downtown. Why? Because most of the stores are closed after 6, some as early as 5. I've always thought it was hard to run a successful business with your front door locked, but apparently it's not.
Since most of us work during the week, and since some of the downtown businesses are closed on Sunday, those of us who have jobs -- which is most people -- have to get all of our shopping done on Saturday. But do it early. When the sun goes down so do the "open" signs.
This, by the way, is ridiculous. All of it. There shouldn't be one big, three-day period for downtown during the holiday season. EVERY weekend night between Thanksgiving and Christmas should be a "Night on the Town."
Businesses should be open until
7 p.m. every weekday and until
9 p.m. on weekends. You could have an "event" every Friday and Saturday night: carolers could sing, choirs could perform, artists could create, Santa could walk around and make merry, and maybe we could get the merchants to participate in a "front-window design" contest.
Or, here's an idea: How about we use that amphitheater at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park -- that took, seemingly, five Christmases to build -- for actual, live entertainment? Yes, you'd have to kick out the couple using it for a drunken rendezvous, but it might be worth it.
I know it's colder at night in December. But have you looked at Beaufort lately? A large portion of the residents migrated here precisely FOR the December weather. If you've ever spent a winter in Maine, 50-degree temperatures are for sunbathing and pina coladas, not hiding indoors.
If the merchants stay
open, people come. If people come, the restaurants are busy and the bars stay packed. Some downtown business owners already realize that -- a few have extended holiday hours -- but they all need to. It's the "live together or die alone" reality.
In an article in Wednesday's Beaufort Gazette,
one downtown merchant admitted she had to convince her partner to open for
Night on the Town because, "When the crowds starts drinking and the kids start running around ... it can become more of a disruptive night than a profitable night." She went on to admit, though, it usually is a VERY profitable night.
If I owned a business, and I had an event that brought thousands of people to my front door, I can't imagine a disruption big enough to make me contemplate ducking out on free money. Is the sound of the cash register too loud? Is the buzz from eager customers too deafening? Does the ink from all of that money stain your hands?
The only thing the crowds disrupt is the usual silence emanating from Bay Street businesses after dark.