×

Games boost shops during slow winter

LAKE PLACID – “We just want more snow,” Mary Fry laughed.

“It’s definitely one of our bigger weekends,” added the owner of the Adirondack Popcorn Co. on Main Street. “Empire State Winter Games leads into Presidents Week, and it leads into Winter Carnival in Saranac Lake, and you get all those things together (and) it just gets crazy for about two weeks.”

There were dozens of athletes, identifiable by their bags of gear or ESWG badges, along with their families and coaches walking around downtown Friday afternoon, watching a dogsled on Mirror Lake and ducking in and out of stores.

There were about a half-dozen customers in Fry’s store, and all of them admitted that the reason they were buying huge boxes of flavored popcorn was to take the snack back to the Olympic Center, where the figure skating competition had already started.

“They come back every year, and they’re familiar with the town. Most of my customers, especially during event weekends, are return customers,” Fry said. “They usually get the extra-big boxes, and I like it because they’ll go down there and share it, and then more people will come down and continue to buy more.”

Fry said she expects to go through about 100 to 150 pounds of corn kernels each day this weekend, while on a typical weekday she might only use 25 pounds.

Bob Tyson, who is manager and “other half” at The Fallen Arch athletic shoe store, said that the games hadn’t had an impact on business yet, but said that business usually picks up as events go on and competitors and their families have more down time.

“Typically what they do here, when there’s events, they’ll come in and cruise the first day or so, and then they’ll come back,” Tyson said. “Hopefully that’ll happen.”

While many local businesses have suffered due to the lack of snow, Tyson said his store sold more running shoes than normal.

“Around November, you stop selling running shoes and you start selling boots,” he said. “Since the season got extended, we sold a lot more running shoes in that period. Now we’re starting to sell more boots.”

While many businesses enjoy profits from the games, the athletes, coaches and families also enjoy the area as well.

“I really like Lake Placid because of the atmosphere,” said Brigid Barstow of Potsdam, who is competing in figure skating and staying with her family in Lake Placid this weekend. “You can walk down the streets and not be worried.

“There’s so many of us here, we’re all surrounded by each other,” she laughed.

Rebecca Bernstein also traveled with her family to the games to compete in figure skating and isn’t intimidated by skating in the historic 1980 Olympic rink.

“It’s just like skating in any other competition,” the 11-year-old from Great Neck said.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.75/week.

Subscribe Today