Fort Collins Brewfest Mess

More than 80 businesses in Old Town have signed a petition to move Brewfest out of Old Town Square. 

It seems that many of them have found that it's safer for them to close for the weekend than have to deal with the damage, vomit and drunkenness. 

The event this year drew more than 15,000 paying customers to Old Town over the two days, but some business owners said those people were there to drink, not to shop. Further, they scare off people who would otherwise be shopping downtown, said the business owners, some of whom Tuesday night asked the Fort Collins City Council to intervene with the DBA.

The comments on the petition are telling.  When even bar owners are complaining about a Brewfest, you've got trouble.

That being noted, nearly four years ago we had a similar debate when a bar called the Purple Martini wanted to open up in Old Town.  Local merchants objected, worried that it would just bring in more unruly drinkers. 

It's not entirely analogous, but there's an important point to keep in mind.  At the time, I wrote:

The 25-34 demographic is essential to the long-term viability of Old Town as a retail center.  If you’re over the age of 40, pay close attention to the following sentence, as it might come as a bit of shock.  Many, if not most, members of the 25-34 demographic have never purchased anything in a non-chain retail store.  They buy their jeans at the GAP, their stereos at Best Buy, and the endless knickknacks that fill their new houses at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  They’ve never bought anything in a “Bob’s Electronics” or a “Jane’s Fashions.”

For this demographic, there is a counter-intuitive trust that comes with making a purchase at a chain store.  If you walk into a GAP, you’ve walked into every GAP.  Serious consumers under the age of 35 know the layout, prices and quality of merchandise in their favorite stores. 

Take another example.  Say you have $20 to spend on a meal.  An older consumer might simply go to their favorite locally-owned restaurant.  After all, they know the place.  There is an inherent trust: a comfort level with the menu, the quality of the food, and the ambiance of the restaurant.  For the 25-34 demographic, chain restaurants have the exact same appeal.  They know that what they’re going to get when they walk into a Chili’s and order a burger.  It’s trust based on familiarity. 

We often read about how locally-owned retailers need to adapt to the competition from chain stores by offering better service and a more personalized customer experience.  With the 25-34 demographic, a group which has no connection to the “good old days” of shopping at the corner store, that’s not enough.

Locally-owned retailers must forge a long-lasting bond with the new generation of consumers.  They need to compete for their trust.  Faced with the choice of making a purchase in an unknown local store or a well-known chain store, a younger consumer is going to choose the chain store.  It is up to the local retailer to reach out to this new generation of consumers, create a level of familiarity, and build that trust.

Sometimes the first spark of that long-term retailer-consumer relationship happens through a shop window.  If I owned a retail store in Old Town, the average person who would have been dropping $10 on a drink at the Purple Martini is the exact type of person I’d want as a future customer.  I’d want them looking in my shop window.

Somewhere, there's a balance to be found between attracting younger consumers to Old Town and dealing with the disruption caused by something like Brewfest.  However, it's clear that this year tipped the balance and the businesses have spoken.