Hollister
– Now that the bikers have come and gone, local bars and
businesses crunching their weekend numbers are reporting that
earnings were good, but not as good as some expected.
Hollister – Now that the bikers have come and gone, local bars and businesses crunching their weekend numbers are reporting that earnings were good, but not as good as some expected.
For many local businesses, the Hollister Motorcycle Rally represents a spike in profits they rely on to help trudge through slower business times. The turnout at this year was much better than in 2006, when the city canceled the sanctioned event.
Still, some businesses owners say they were surprised they did not sell as much as expected.
Rick Hernandez, owner of Cheap Seats Pub and Grub, said the business did well in beer sales but had expected even more customers.
“We probably sold a good four times what we would do in a normal weekend, but our expectations were way higher,” Hernandez said.
Cheap Seats went through 37 out of the 47 kegs purchased over the weekend, Hernandez said, and was at capacity almost every evening.
Whiskey Creek Saloon owner Carol Rivers echoed that sentiment. The bar had fewer sales than expected, but Rivers was still happy.
“I just won’t have to buy beer or liquor for a while,” Rivers said.
Some business owners are saying the new setup – with vendors along San Benito Street – negatively affected their businesses.
“A lot of the customers were saying the same thing – that it was a big vendor rally,” Hernandez said.
He noted how the setup negatively affected Cheap Seats’ food sales, with food booths right outside his restaurant.
Vault owner Ignacio Velazquez said his restaurant’s numbers appeared equivalent to 2005, but he thought his business was slightly obstructed by having vendors in the middle of the street.
Velazquez also noticed bikers did not hang around as long as in years past.
“I think it is really something that the committee really needs to sit down and think about,” Velazquez said. “I would really like to see them listen to the customers.”
While Saturday was one of the busiest days in rally history, Hollister Police Capt. Bob Brooks said, Sunday was much quieter with people leaving earlier.
Velazquez believes having bikes parked down San Benito Street keeps visitors more interested in staying longer over the weekend, he said.
Other businesses thought the setup didn’t affect their sales either way.
Johnny’s Bar and Grill saw “excellent” weekend sales, owner Charisse Tyson said. Tyson said she did even better than expected on Sunday.
Drapoel owner Deborah Wood said she thought the setup brought more foot traffic into her clothing store.
“The flow was really nice this year because they had the booths downtown,” Wood said. “I missed the visual that you got, but it was less noisy, too.”
Wood said she thought the rally’s cancellation in 2006 may have been the primary reason some local businesses saw a decrease in sales.
“I think we lost a lot of people that didn’t come back after last year was canceled,” she said.
Staff writer Anthony Ha contributed to this report.
