October's Most Lucrative Business?

GERMANTOWN, Md. – Vendors at local Oktoberfests say the struggling economy is hitting them just like everyone else. Fittingly, the only exception was the beer vendors.

In Germantown, Md., countless tents lined the Oktoberfest thoroughfare, offering a wide variety of wares. But many items were going unsold.

“Most vendors say they’re not doing as well,” said Pam Silverwood, who runs a pottery company in Silver Spring. “My pottery is functional, [so] I’m getting more business [than others], but no question, it is a little lower.”

Lower sales extended beyond those offering crafts, affecting concessions as well.

Rosita Underwood, a food vendor selling German sausages, said that her stand garnered attention because she was one of the few offering “authentic” fare. Although most concessions offered more traditional American choices, the nod to tradition did little to improve sales, which she said were indeed down from last year.

“Everything’s been lower,” Underwood said. “It doesn’t matter [what you sell] it’s tough all over.”

While both food and craft vendors spoke of sales decreases, those selling beer reported business as usual.

“Beverage sales have been brisk all day,” said Steve Cononie, who was working at the beer stand. He and several other men were busily keeping the cups full, in order to accommodate the steady stream of customers.

“I have seen no economic impact whatsoever,” Cononie added, while placing another round of cups on the table.

The sales came in spite of the fact that the beverage station was in an enclosed area, and one needed to purchase a wrist band to partake. Beer sales also flew in the face of German purists, as the allegedly “authentic German beers” offered included many American favorites, most notably Samuel Adams, a beer more likely to be found along the Charles River than the Rhine.

Across the state line, Virginians hosted a number of Oktoberfests and reported similar sales trends. Beer distributers at Capital City’s Oktoberfest in Arlington, Va., worked hard to keep up with the high demand.

"I think we're doing a lot better, actually. People are down in the dumps and they need a release,” said Justin Farthing, of Otter Creek Brewing. “It's helping us; we're up for our year a good amount. [The lagging economy] is hitting our restaurant business a lot, but a lot of our retail business is up."

That news was not surprising to David von Storch, the president of Capital City Brewing’s parent company Urban Adventure. He says that beer sales are counter-cyclical.

“When everybody's doing well, we're typically not doing as well,” von Storch said. “When the economy's a little bit soft, we're doing typically a little bit better than the rest of the economy.”

At Fort Belvoir’s Oktoberfest organizers said they see things continuing to go well. On Sunday, active-duty military personnel and their families received half-price tickets for the rides.

“We’ve done a few things differently this year,” said Bill Parsons, the director of morale, welfare and recreation at Fort Belvoir. “We managed to get ATMs here so that might increase [sales], but our numbers probably aren’t a whole lot different than previous years.”

But at least one vendor said he has seen a difference. David Ayars, of Marshall, Va. who travels to 54 festivals a year to sell his homemade cinnamon almonds said sales are down 20 to 25 percent compared to last year. Ayars said he doesn’t have a traditional storefront and relies on the festival sales as his only source of income.

“We’ve not raised our prices, so we’re taking the loss,” he said. “The price of gas affects us, so it’s been a rough year.”
Ayers said he’s been selling his Nut N Better goods at the Fort Belvoir Oktoberfest for eight years and despite the decrease in sales says he’ll be back next year.

“It’s got to get better, it’s got to,” he said.

*Additional reporting by June Kim and Caroline Stetler