On parade route, cash registers brace for workout
Saturdays at Jack's Drum Shop on Boylston Street are usually the slowest. But with the Red Sox victory parade passing by this morning, the shop will join many other businesses on the 3-mile land portion of the route that will stay open, hoping to cash in on the crush of fans.
"When there is a Sox game going on, we get a lot of foot traffic," said Timothy Griffiths, a sales clerk. "My only concern is if we get any idiots in who started drinking too early. We always have people coming in to play and break stuff."
While there may be more browsers traipsing through, sales are not expected to increase substantially, he said.
"People may want cow bells," he said. "But it detracts from our customers from outside of the city, who may not come in because they think it'll be out of control."
A few blocks away, the company that manages the Prudential Center Mall is expecting increased business, especially in its 3,800-space parking garage. "We expect to be busy. We're really looking forward to it," said Amy Daniels, marketing director for
Daniels said the center will bring in more staff and operate on a similar plan used each year for the Boston Marathon.
Other businesses along the route are expected to offer special parade-day deals. Eastern Mountain Sports, across from the Prudential Center, is planning to hand out fliers offering 20 percent discounts with the hopes of drawing in more customers.
"During the Patriots parade, it was pretty quiet in here because people out there were just there to watch," said Sean McGovern, assistant manager. "We'll have our doors open, but I don't expect many people will be dropping in to buy gear."
The owners of Fenway Sportsworld, just off Jersey Street, are more hopeful. Typically the souvenir store is closed on Saturday, but Frank Russo III said he and his father will open the doors at 6 a.m. today.
"We just won the World Series for the first time in 86 years; I'm betting there will be a pretty big crowd," Russo said. "The night we won, we were here until 3 a.m. and had over 1,000 customers."
Most proprietors were pleased to be along the route if only to have a warm seat for the show.
A few, however, were not.
"It should have been along Commonwealth Avenue because it would have been better for the businesses there because they're mostly food and restaurants," said Michael, the owner of a Mobil gas station at the start of the route, who would not give his last name.
Because of the street closings, Michael said, he will see no business for hours and will lose money. "We're a 24-hour station, so company policy is we stay open, but I think we should close," he said.
Some are worried about unruly crowds. At Anthropologie, a store near the Prudential Center, manager Blake McDermott said the store will "play it by ear" in terms of hours and staffing. "If it starts to get out of control, we might close for a little while," she said.
Globe correspondent Heather Allen contributed to this report.
