Sales up, but not due to closure

Shop owners said Chautauqua, BikeFest and other events help sales

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By FRED COUZENS

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Although U.S. Highway 93 across Hoover Dam was closed nearly 90 hours because of the collapse of four supply cable towers during a wind burst on Sept. 15, the extra traffic forced back through Boulder City to reach the U.S. Highway 95 detour route apparently did very little to impact sales and revenues over the nearly four-day extended weekend period.

Instead, the exceptional weather, Chautauqua, a wedding, an artist's reception and BikeFest in Las Vegas combined to give merchants an economic lift and hope for a profitable holiday shopping season.

"These were the best days we ever had," said Bill Smith of Back in Thyme. "It was just tremendous yesterday. We couldn't put stuff out quick enough. If things keep going strong like this, it'll be a tremendous season."

Smith, who keeps precise statistics about the people who walk through his and Glena Dunn's Nevada Way doors, reported 175 out-of-town visitors and 50 local customers on Saturday and a similar number of customers on Sunday, with the out-of-town crowd swelling to 200.

Most said it was the local happenings on Sept. 16 that caused the best business day in a long time.

"Saturday was so busy because of Chautauqua," said Karen Pellouchoud of Periwinkle Cottage, right around the corner from the Boulder Theatre, the site of this year's history-recalling event. "Sunday was not bad for a Sunday. We did well not only because of Chautauqua, but because of a huge wedding at the (Boulder Dam) hotel, and the weather that was beautiful. It was so nice to see so many people walking around."

Al Stevens of the Coffee Cup said, "We did alright because of BikeFest but not as much as we expected," while Bridget O'Neill of Grandma Daisy's said, "Saturday was good and Sunday was a little off, but you can sure tell when there's an event in the area."

Merry Summey of Fiddlesticks said she noticed a lot of theater-goers stood around her door after closing.

"Next year we're going to stay open longer on Chautauqua weekend," she said.

The Chamber of Commerce reported getting a number of calls about the highway closure, but very few about any events that weekend.

The Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum reported higher than normal visitor numbers for the weekend, although a specific count was not available. The registers showed about 70 persons signing in both Saturday and Sunday -- an imprecise number because signing the register is voluntary -- with about one-third coming from outside the United States.

"We got calls constantly from people asking when the dam was going to reopen," said Julia Kaighn, a six-year museum employee of the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association. "The people who got turned away at the checkpoint but came in here instead said they were very disappointed. One couple from Germany said they had to leave (Monday) and couldn't wait until the dam reopened, but they did say that the museum was great."

Meanwhile, out on Nevada Highway beyond Buchanan Boulevard, times were reported to be not as rosy.

In fact, some retailers reported a significant drop in weekend revenue, presumably because travelers intent on traveling chose not to stop in Boulder City but at points farther down on U.S. Highway 93 and Arizona Highway 68 detour route to Kingman, Ariz.

A television news report quoted the owner of the A&W Root Beer stand on Nevada Highway as saying his normal $1,400-day on Saturdays fell significantly to $500, all because of the dam traffic that bypassed the eatery.

Smith said looking at the big picture that may be the city's promotional slogan -- "A World Away for a Day" -- is beginning to pay off.

"Maybe it's the tourism program and the advertising, but I can't say for sure about that since it's only speculation," he said. "But I do know (Sunday) was just unbelievable and everybody was in a good mood. It was good, too, because I didn't have to turn the air conditioning on."