| Salt Lake City |
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| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
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| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
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| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
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| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
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| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
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Not all businesses sharing in the wealth
By Marina O'Neill, Jerry D. Spangler and Donna Kemp Spangler
Deseret News staff writers
The 2002 Winter Games have been both boon and bust for Salt Lake and Park City businesses.
Boon if you sell fast food, Olympic pins, souvenirs or anything with those five interlocking rings, or warm clothes and long underwear.
Bust for scores of other retailers hoping for a windfall from the throngs of international visitors.
"People want Olympic stuff, Olympic berets," said Jaime Cortes, co-owner of Paradise Boards, a store that sells souvenirs on Park City's historic Main Street.
Brenda Gerber, manager of Rock and Silver gift store, agreed. "If you don't have Olympic stuff hanging in your window, people are not bothering to come in," she said.
Disappointed Salt Lake merchants and restaurateurs have complained that the Games' economic boost has been confined to a very few blocks of downtown and specific tourist needs.
And despite well-publicized recent pleas, locals scared away by traffic fears have not yet come back downtown — at least not to eat or shop.
"In a nutshell, the Olympics are a huge disruption to the typical flow of a business," said John Williams, president of Gastronomy Inc., owner of Cafe Pierpont, the New Yorker Club, Baci Trattoria and the Market Street Grills and Broiler.
"The Olympic media has been extremely effective at scaring away the local clientele. Everyone thinks it's gridlock," Williams said. But after watching patterns in Los Angeles and Atlanta, he said he's not surprised. "We supported the Olympics, we're glad it happened, but we anticipated it would have some negative impacts."
Most of Gastronomy's restaurants have been hard hit by the dearth of local diners, a trend Williams suspects is partly tied to the Games' high television ratings. Only the group's two most upscale restaurants, the New Yorker and Baci, both located in the heart of downtown, have benefited. Business at both has been "phenomenal," he said.
Likewise, coats, handwarmers, hats and other cold-weather gear have virtually flown out the door at Gart Sports in the ZCMI Center.
But nearby Shapiro Luggage & Gifts has watched the crowds with increasing dismay. This is usually a time of year when locals are buying for upcoming vacations, but this year's business has been far below normal, said Shanna Shanks, assistant manager.
"Thousands of people are out there, but they're not coming in here," Shanks said. "It's been slow for us. We haven't gotten the traffic we expected."
Food courts at both the ZCMI Center and neighboring Crossroads Plaza have been busy right until midnight as cold and hungry Olympic Medals Plaza attendees flock in.
"We're packed. We're just trying to keep up with it. We're thrilled," said Sarah Darke, Crossroads marketing director. "It's a typical Saturday lunch crowd all the time. As far as foot traffic it's just been amazing."
But like other merchants, Heather Palmer of the San Francisco Music Box Co. said, "They come in and they say, 'Do you have anything Olympic-y?' We say no, and they walk right on out.
"We're hoping that we'll at least break even," Palmer said, noting several shoppers have offered to buy the store's Olympic-themed Visa promotional banners.
In Heber City, the town sponsored a Western arts and crafts fair and brought in artisans from around the West expecting to attract those attending the nearby cross-country skiing competition. But most days, the fair is empty.
About the only thing selling at the fair is cowboy hats with an Olympic Games band. "We've sold thousands of them," said Robyn Pearson with the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce.
"The governor called and said he was coming up, and he wanted to make sure we had a hat for him," he added.
For the others, the dearth of cash-happy customers is disappointing.
Kenneth Brunsvold, who makes hand-crafted Indian flutes, including the one used by his partner Nagi Nupa to welcome the Olympic flame to Utah during a ceremony at Delicate Arch, questions whether visitors are even getting out and about.
"I am not sure they even know we are here," he said.
Salt Lake City seems to be doing best at night, with record crowds descending this past weekend.
Club Axis co-owner James Dabakis reported "business is fabulous," with crowds of more than 1,000 on some nights and visits by Olympic celebrities, including three U.S. snowboarding medalists. Both locals and visitors are "coming out late and staying out late," he said.
Both malls report plenty of open parking available, and until last weekend traffic gridlock has failed to materialize. The only thing missing to make the celebration complete are their regular customers, business and restaurant owners said.
"It would create a better party for everyone who is downtown visiting" if more locals participate, Gastronomy's Williams said. "The locals would be able to experience this whole Olympic fever, and the people who are visiting from out of state would have a better feel for who we are."
E-MAIL: moneill@desnews.com ; spang@desnews.com ; donna@desnews.com
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February 19, 2002
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