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Groundhog celebration brings business to local shops, vendors |
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Local Content -
Local News
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Written by Larry Mcguire
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Monday, 08 February 2010 |
The most popular shirt sold at Punxsy Phil’s Official Souvenir Shop was this blue T-Shirt. George Powers, manager of the store, is seen here displaying the shirt. He said that despite the fact that Groundhog Day was on a Tuesday, it was one of the best weeks — in terms of sales — for Phil merchandise. (Photo by Larry McGuire/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Despite predictions of the crowd numbers being down for Groundhog Day — with Phil’s big day landing on a Tuesday this year — many downtown merchants were pleased with the amount of customers that visited their establishments throughout the weekend.
George Powers, manager of Punxsy Phil’s Official Souvenir Shop, explained that when Groundhog Day occurs on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, sales for local shops have been down in the past.
“I really anticipated being down 33 percent over previous years,” Powers said. “When the facts and figures came in for the weekend, Saturday and Sunday — with Monday and Tuesday being the first and second (of February) — we were down about 22 percent. To me, that was a moral victory. The fact that people came out and stayed longer on Groundhog Day, and stayed around for the next day was a surprise.
“There were still people coming out and wandering around the streets,” he added. “They were buying souvenirs, which surprised the heck out of me. Last year, when it was on a Monday, by lunch, this town was a ghost town.
“Everybody was gone. The vendors were gone,” he said. “I tried to go down to the park at lunchtime to get the girls in the office hot sausage sandwiches, and there was only one vendor, and he was from town. All the other vendors from the area were packed up and gone. Basically, everyone came off the knob and that was it. This year, they surprised me because they hung around.
Powers went on to explain that the mass of people splitting into two different groups between Saturday and Sunday, and Monday and Tuesday, helped business.
“This year was also strange because we had two separate groups of people,” Powers said. “We had the people who came for Saturday-Sunday, and they left and went home. Then we had the people who came in for the celebration at the knob Monday-Tuesday, and trickled over into Wednesday. The amount of sales for the first and second (of February) were higher than the sales for last year. It was a surprise. It was a pleasant surprise.
“There is always a trickle down effect from Groundhog Day with people ordering online,” he added.
Bev Fairman, owner of Fairlady & Company, a store that deals in a variety of items from hand painted art work, to figurines and umbrellas, reported that most items throughout her store sold well Saturday through Tuesday.
“Any groundhog-themed items sold out, and Terri Dunkel’s paintings were also well received by the visitors,” Fairman said.
Melissa Ferguson of Fairlady & Company explained that groundhog night lights and broom holders were big sellers.
Debby Gilson of Gilson Stained Glass & More said that for her first Groundhog Day, several items sold well, especially button jewelry.
“We were busy all day long,” Gilson added. “We even sold my antique desk that was on display in the store front.”
Scott Anthony, owner of Fox’s Pizza Den, reported that business was great throughout the weekend.
Anthony said that his Sunday and Monday sales doubled, and Tuesday was almost double the business he would normally do.
“We still had a nice steady day Tuesday, even after it began to slow down after lunch,” Anthony said. “We had some visitors who stop by every Groundhog Day. They are always very complimentary and very appreciative of the small town atmosphere.
“At this location, people come in waves. I can look down the street and see other restaurants may have people lined up out the door, and we don’t have anybody,” he said. “When the visitors come down the street to the Weather Discovery Center, and they discover our restaurant, we get real busy.”
Anthony said he had planned to close at 2 a.m. Tuesday since it was a mid-week celebration, but stayed open an hour longer.
“We had a steady stream of customers until about 3 a.m.,” Anthony said. “The sign out front of the restaurant that says ‘Home of the Wedgie,’ became quite a photo opportunity for many people. A lot of people came in asking for the ‘Fox’s famous wedgie’ because they wanted to try something different.
“We sold a lot of pizza. It’s always a good hot staple item that people can eat all day long,” Anthony added.
Katie Laska, owner of Caterina’s Dolce Cucina, reported that her coffeehouse was busy from lunch until later in the night leading up to Groundhog Day.
“I think we finally closed at 11:45 p.m.,” Laska said. “There were a variety of age groups that came through the doors.
“Most of our visitors were happy that Punxsy had a coffeehouse, and everyone was very nice,” Laska added. “We’ve been open for three years, and this was one of our best crowds ever. Monday, the visitors just kept on coming all day long.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 February 2010 )
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