Fest sales boost local businesses

As punk rock fans piled into Gainesville for Fest on Friday, local businesses prepared for some of the year’s highest sales numbers.

The annual punk-music festival draws thousands every year, and from Friday to Sunday about 10,000 people were expected to attend, according to its website.

Bands, comedians and even wrestlers entertained crowds at several downtown venues including Bo Diddley Community Plaza, Boca Fiesta, Rockeys Dueling Piano Bar and Loosey’s.

These businesses, and some of those within earshot, thrived during the festival — a weekend local business owners said they look forward to every year.

For Jacob Ihde, a co-owner of Boca Fiesta, sales increased substantially during the festival, although he would not give exact figures.

“It’s always our busiest weekend of the year,” he said, noting that Fest-goers can be easily spotted by their black attire.

To prepare for the rush, he said the restaurant offered specials like beer-and-shot combos, which he said were popular with attendees.

Amid a punk-filled downtown, Big Lou’s NY Style Pizzeria also filled with customers.

Richard Whitehead, 30, a server who worked there Friday and Saturday, said all of the tables were full.

“Everyone was trying to grab a slice, chug a beer and leave,” he said.

He said he received better tips than he had in prior Fest weekends, and he noted that the festival-goers have been getting “progressively cleaner” over the past several years.

Away from food or drink, Andrew Schaer, the owner of Hear Again Music and Movies, said music fans in attendance at Fest trickled into his store to buy vinyl records.

“The crowd that comes here is a pretty versatile crowd in terms of what they listen to,” he said.

Like Whitehead, Schaer said the crowd seemed nicer than in years past. He hadn’t heard of any incidents of vandalism, which stained previous Fest weekends.

For Loosey’s, a bar that hosted bands like BOYS and Iron Chic, the weekend of headbanging left its mark on Gainesville — and left Loosey’s staff exhausted. At about 1 p.m. Monday, the bar was still nearly packed.

And although a bartender declined to comment Monday, a sign outside the building stated the bar would close today, citing a need for “FEST rehabilitation time.”

Festival goers wait to down hot dogs from a Nathan's Famous food stand across the street from Lot 10 during The Fest on Oct. 31, 2015.