Businesses see big boost following nighttime farmers market

CEDAR RAPIDS - Some business owners in downtown Cedar Rapids are recovering after what they said was one of the busiest days of the year.

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance organized the first Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers' Market After Dark on Saturday night.

Thousands of people flocked to the event, which lasted from 7:30 p.m. to midnight.

Businesses said they're still trying to catch up on work after the crowd filled the area.

While they expected the busy night, they didn't quite expect all the people that showed up.

'We have them going double time at the candy kitchen to catch up,” Melanie Primasing, owner of Simply Divine Candy, said.

Primasing said she's still trying to refill shelves after selling out of many items at her candy store. The crowds overwhelmed businesses that stayed open late on Saturday.

'It was good craziness, it was fabulous. Everybody was so wonderful and nice and just - we were inundated,” Primasing said.

With more than two hundred sales transactions, Primasing is marking Saturday as her best day of sales all summer.

The owner of Rock Bar American Grill shared her excitement about the busy Saturday night.

'I think it was fun. The opportunity to drink outside makes it feel like a bigger city,” said Rock Bar American Grill owner Kirby Patten.

He said next to St. Patrick's Day, it was his second biggest business day since opening last year.

'You couldn't even walk, like at all, through here. I should have had two more bartenders. Yeah, it was crazy,” Patten said.

Those working at Third Street Convenience said they hardly got a break all night.

'It was pretty crazy, probably traffic out the door for a good steady three to four hours,” said clerk Dino Meek.

You can still see the dent in the beer supply at the store because ...

'Some people said the long lines, others said the prices were high at the vendors, probably a combination of both,” Meek said.

These store owners and employees heard some complaints from patrons, but they said most people enjoyed the nighttime farmers market.

Businesses certainly did. They're calling for more of these After Dark Farmers Markets next year after getting the much-needed business boost.

'It was fabulous. That's the thing. Any time you get that many people in a downtown area - downtown doesn't get the promotion NewBo or anybody else does. That's what downtown needs. If you want people downtown and businesses downtown and you have people that want to live downtown, you put these kind of things downtown, Primasing said.

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance wasn't ready to comment about the event on Monday and didn't have a count, yet, of how many people attended.

Many posted opinions on the event Facebook page. Some people said it was way too crowded with too much drinking and not enough food vendors. Others said they liked the event, saying it was a great new event for Cedar Rapids.

l Comments: 319-398-8268; jill.kasparie@kcrg.com