It’s still early February but thanks to mostly friendly skies and warm weather it feels as though the spring season is already beginning to bloom. The clement climate is just in time for the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce, which will be keeping Main Street lively this weekend a with a semi-annual three-day sidewalk sale.
Merchants on Main Street in Old Town Seal Beach will create a festive marketplace atmosphere from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 14, 15 and 16.
“The Sidewalk Sale this weekend is to welcome spring shopping, especially for the boutiques to unveil their new collections and the second is the end of summer sale, many showcasing their fall collections and discounting their summer goods,” said Diana Brunjes, president of the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber sponsors this event but Nick Patruzo at Endless Summer is the real man in charge of both facilitating and recruiting businesses to participate. Any business is eligible to participate, not just Chamber members.”
Visitors to the street will see shop owners filling the sidewalks with merchandise set out on racks and tables, offering bargains and one of a kind items.
This is the first of the Chamber’s semi-annual sidewalk sales of 2014. The idea for the events to be brought back as a regular event was presented in 2011 by Chamber Member Patruzo, who at the time said he had a dream of taking the sidewalk sales to a new level.
Patruzo is co-owner of the Endless Summer clothing store on Main Street said he wanted to show visitors that shopping in the seaside city could be a fun experience.
He recalled that growing up in New Jersey, sidewalk sales were a common practice and often included outdoor cooking with the aroma of fine Italian foods wafting through the air and friends and neighbors chatting and laughing together while strolling the street, looking through the various businesses’ wares.
“There is no question that a sidewalk sale generates business,” he said in 2011 when the economy was struggling more than today. “The worst you can do is a little more and in this economy a little more is good.”
Sidewalk sales were more common in the 1970s, but they dropped of in the 1980s.
The Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce started bringing them back during the Run Seal Beach events.
In order to make them more affordable, the merchants banded together as sponsors under a blanket of insurance for the events. Previously they often had to purchase individual insurance for their sidewalk sales.
“More and more businesses join each time,” Brunjes said. “It’s wonderful to see the street come together to bring folks to town to shop.
“The general consensus is yes, we’re bringing in more shoppers all the time. They feel it’s a super time to get really good deals and the businesses like the increase of traffic, both local and non-local shoppers.”
Some businesses choose to have entertainment inside or outside their store during the Sidewalk Sales.
“That is their decision,” Brunjes said. “The best part of this event is that every participate can make of it what they want. I’ve heard there will be some fun things in ‘store’ on the 100 block … pardon the pun, business humor.”
Regarding special discounts for customers related to the sale, Brunjes said: “Businesses are encouraged to offer deals during the Sidewalk Sale, most choosing to discount special items and many offer discounts on return business after the sale. There isn’t a blanket discount on the street, but most businesses are trying to draw in customers and ‘percentage off’ or ‘buy X, get X free’ are usually good incentives to get people to at least stop and take a look.”
