FOURTH OF JULY DUD

Canceled fireworks ruin a normally busy weekend for local businesses.

Fourth of July crowds that line the three rivers and pack viewing areas from Downtown to the North Shore to Mount Washington typically mean big bucks for hotels, restaurants and other businesses. But this year, with the fireworks show canceled because of the coronavirus, business owners fear this weekend will be a dud.

The Gateway Clipper Fleet typically runs four dinner cruises and one sightseeing cruise on July 4, booking 500-700 people for dinner that evening. Fleet President Terry Wirginis said they had 90 passengers booked for a dinner cruise but canceled it and other cruises when Allegheny County officials on Thursday afternoon banned gatherings of more than 25 people.

Since each cruise requires a minimum of five crew members, taking 25 passengers out wouldn’t be worth it, Mr. Wirginis said. He estimates the company’s loss for the weekend at $40,000-$50,000.

Tom Haynes, 55, of Oakville, Conn., was looking forward to watching fireworks from a Gateway Clipper cruise on Saturday. This would have been his first trip in six years to Pittsburgh, where he was born and raised. When he found out the fireworks show had been canceled due to COVID-19, he tried to cancel his reservation. Instead of a refund, he was offered a gift card. That is company policy, Mr. Wirginis said.

“We’ve been able to move a lot of business to later in the year,” he said. “Our policy is to reschedule, not refund.”

But when Mr. Haynes told Gateway Clipper personnel that he had contacted local media, he was issued a refund.

Hotels also expect to take a hit from a no-fireworks Fourth.

“Typically we would be sold out, very busy,” said Tom Hemer, director of sales and marketing for the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, which faces Point State Park and the Point.

The hotel expected to be even

busier than usual for the weekend because the Pittsburgh Pirates were originally scheduled to host the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park on the North Shore, but all MLB games are on hold for now.

“As I’m sure most hotels have, we’ve experienced a lot of cancellations for that weekend specifically,” he said.

Mr. Hemer said COVID19 has made travelers leery of making reservations too far in advance generally. Guests who used to book rooms months in advance are now doing so just one or two weeks before, and some are making them on the day of arrival, he said.

Altius, a restaurant on

Mount Washington that overlooks the Point, usually has a fixed-price, limited menu for July 4 and is fully booked two months in advance. That was not the case earlier this week, said managing partner Josephine “B” DeFrancis.

“First, with the [county Health Department] mandate to cease all alcohol sales, we were already bleeding cash due to our fixed costs and unable at that point to break even. With 50% capacity and then 25% of those sales lost, it was a losing battle,” she said.

“Over this week of the Fourth, we lost well over $20,000 in alcohol sales, not to mention reservations plummeting, because our guest experience is no longer what it was. With the new mandate to close again, we will monitor the situation and hope for the best. It is prudent for us not to open, first for the safety and health of our guests and staff, and also because it is financially unsustainable.”

The Foundry Table & Tap on the North Shore usually books lots of early reservations for July 4, said owner Andrew Stackiewicz. Diners like to linger on the large back patio that faces the Allegheny River, near where the fireworks are launched.

He expects a 90% loss for this weekend compared with past holiday weekends as a result of fireworks being canceled and the county’s order Thursday that bars and restaurants be closed. The

Foundry, which had begun offering dine-in service, will return to takeout and delivery only.

“We followed all the criteria, and now we’re getting punished for what other people aren’t doing,” Mr. Stackiewicz said.

He noted that his patrons can find fireworks displays elsewhere.

“I think it will hurt me more because they’re still doing fireworks, from what I’ve heard, in small towns. So people are going to stay home even more and hang out there and watch the local fireworks,” he said.

“Pittsburgh loves fireworks, so you gotta see them.”