Good libations
George Street pubs expect extra business on tap during festival
Pubs on George Street are preparing for the George Street Festival, which begins Thursday evening and will bring a massive influx of locals and tourists to the street.
“We anticipate it will be yet again a successful year,” says Jonathan Galgay, executive director of the George Street Association. “There’s a really good vibe that we’re feeling and hearing. Oftentimes people don’t look at the economic benefit festivals will have on the region.”
The festival, which runs July 26-Aug. 1, will feature traditional favourites such as Shanneyganock and The Masterless Men, as well as The Arkells, I Mother Earth, Finger 11, Kardinal Offishall and Classified, among others.
Galgay says the George Street Association has already heard from people who came to St. John’s early for the festival, including those who came for conferences and chose to extend their stay.
He said the festival has historically had a big impact on the region, with people coming to stay in hotels, and visiting shops and restaurants in the downtown area.
“We’re really proud to be part of it,” Galgay says of the economic impact the festival has on St. John’s.
“The George Street Festival is traditionally the busiest week of the year and so is the following week,” says Brian Day, owner and operator of Christian’s pub on George Street.
Day says he typically sees a 15 to 20 per cent increase in business during the two weeks. He attributes some of this increase to tourists who come for the festival and want to participate in their Screech-in ceremony, which was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” episode about Newfoundland.
According to Day, an estimated 3,600 people will be on George Street every night before 11 p.m. and 11,000 after 11 p.m. during the festival. Sponsors Labatt and Corby often use the festival as a way to activate new lines because of the increase in business on the street.
Regarding any changes to their operation during the George Street Festival, Day says, “We tend to be consistent throughout. … If anything, we offer a small, little discount for our speed bar, which we offer outside. … It’s pretty much like a dollar off everything because our overhead is so much smaller outside.”
Wait staff at Green Sleeves Pub said business does tend to increase a bit, but more specifically it tends to be more compact rather than spanning the entire evening. Unlike most weeks where some nights will be busier than others, it remains consistently busy every day of the festival, they say.
They explained that daytime traffic increases with more large groups, but things tend to quiet down around 8 p.m. when they would normally be getting busy on a regular night. Many of their customers will request seats on the deck, where they will sit the entire night to see the show.
The wait staff mentioned that the George Street Festival does negatively affect some of their regular customers who come out every week, but won’t during the festival, when they need a ticket to get on the street.
According to the wait staff, drink sales tend to decline a little during the festival when people are able to bring in drinks from the street, but this causes food sales to go up due to the limited number of places on George Street serving a full menu.