Beachside Vendors Report Cool Earnings This Summer
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As the summer season draws to an end, vendors at Orchard Beach in the Bronx say despite the record hot temperatures, profits remained pretty cool. NY1's Mara Montalbano filed the following report.There's only about a week left of the unofficial beach season and vendors in Orchard Beach were trying to soak up some last-minute profits before it ends. With record temperatures and not many rain-outs, at least one says he has had a great summer.
"Last year only worked 52 days. So far we worked 100 days this year," said John Ahl of Planet Orchard Beach.
Ahl says while he's still feeling the pinch from a down economy, he says people still come to him for their beach essentials.
"Umbrellas, lotions, bathing suits, t-shirt, whatever. They need everything here. People come, they forget to bring...apartments are small and they can't keep stuff," Ahl said.
Over at the Beachside Cafe, workers say while beer and spirit sales are up, customers are still pinching pennies.
"As a trend we are seeing a lot of people are eating out a lot less and they bring food from the house. Maybe it's the economy. This year we saw a lot of people not eating," said Beach Side Cafe employee Amol Patil.
NY1 caught up with some beachgoers who packed their coolers to the brim, hoping to have a less expensive day out.
"Sandwiches, plenty of water, bags, chips. The most I paid was parking right now," said one beachgoer.
"Maybe another time I would go to a more exclusive beach and pay a higher parking fee or entrance fee or buy things at the concession stand, but I'm definitely trying to go the cheap route," said another.
Something that also disappointed vendors and beachgoers this year was a lack of entertainment. The Parks Department had scheduled a series of summer concerts, but a spokesman says a concert producer pulled out at the last minute. And while some shows did go on, locals say they were hoping for more.
"This place used to be a madhouse on Sundays because they did have the bands, you can see the difference. Me, myself, I can live without it. My music, I'm fine with that," said one beachgoer.
While the party went on for some, others say they can only look forward to a better and more profitable summer next year.