Vendors cite big crowds but slow sales

By Dan Daly, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, August 12, 2004

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STURGIS — Stacie Cole of Burlington, Kan., seemed oblivious to the deafening roar of Lazelle Street's motorcycles only a few yards away. She flexed her fingers and began quietly tapping the keys of the laptop computer in front of her.

Her leather jacket, blue bandanna, dark sunglasses and wind-burned cheeks marked her as a biker. But with a "Visual Basic" computer textbook lying open next to her laptop, she looked like a student.

Actually, Cole is both. And even though the Sturgis motorcycle rally was going on all around her, she had a class project to finish. "It's due today," she said, flashing a smile.

Cole was one of a handful of bikers who sidled up to the laptop computers at Reilly's Internet Access, a new Internet cafe/tent on West Lazelle Street during the Sturgis rally.

Tim Reilly of Rapid City took the entrepreneurial plunge this year. He lined up the computers, the cable connection and the booth space in hope that Sturgis bikers in 2004 would pay to stay connected during rally week.

Asked Tuesday if his bet is paying off, Reilly laughed and shrugged. "People walk up and say, ‘This is great; I'm glad you're here,' and then they walk away," he said.

Reilly suffered a nerve-wracking weekend of little traffic. But by Monday, bikers were trickling into Reilly's shady little enclave just off the corner of Lazelle and Seventh Street. They logged onto one of Reilly's 10 laptop computers — some brought their own — to check e-mail or search the Internet. He had been getting about 50 customers a day, not what he had hoped for.

But Reilly should take heart. A number of Sturgis food and merchandise vendors — including some veterans in the heart of downtown — also reported slow business despite this year's high traffic.

Most measures of biker numbers and motorcycle traffic indicate that the 2004 Sturgis rally is a big one. However, vendors say those who are here seem to be more cautious with their money. They're shopping, looking, but not buying as freely as they have in past years.

"People don't want to part with their money, for whatever reason," Americo Domigues of Boston, who was operating the U.S. Motorcycle Gear shop in a storefront on the busiest stretch of Main Street, said. He has been at the location for nine rallies.

Up Main Street east of Junction Avenue, Rudy Jones of RJ's Big Badd Wolf BBQ booth watched as a steady stream of bikers walked past his shop. Occasionally, someone would stop to buy one of his giant $6 coleslaw-topped pork sandwiches. But most just nodded and kept on walking.

"There's a lot of foot traffic — I'll give you that," drawled Jones, who drove up to Sturgis from Charlotte, N.C., to try his luck as a Sturgis rally vendor.

Jones told about the previous night when a drunken biker stumbled up to his booth about 10 p.m.

"He said he had enough cash left to buy one pork sandwich or two beers. I said, ‘Let me get you that sandwich.' But he just said, ‘Nah, I'm going to go have the two beers,' and stumbled away."

Some vendors, however, seem to be doing well; the chicken-on-a-stick booth on East Main Street was selling the distinctive yellow-orange chicken breasts as fast as the staff could serve them. And all up and down the block, bikers could be seen munching on the chicken-on-a-stick snacks.

And Shabir Hakim, who was working the Devine Leather booth, was having a good day on Tuesday. During a brief break, he said the weekend was slow but that things picked up Monday morning.

"I have a big butt and little legs," one customer said as she tried on a pair of leather chaps. Hakim kneeled behind her helping to adjust the buckles and looking impassively at the waist belt to be sure it was properly positioned on her hips.

As he rang up that sale, one biker offered him $75 for a $99 Indian-style leather vest and a very large man suggested they arm-wrestle double or nothing for a $30 chrome helmet. Hakim politely declined both offers. He sold the helmet but not the vest.

Joe "Squeek" Milan of Framingham, Mass., was working two booths in downtown Sturgis. His own nonprofit "Crashin' Sucks" booth was on Lazelle Street, and he was working at the Sturgis Swapmeet booth at Main and Junction.

"It's slow," he said of the merchandise business. "I see a lot of tire-kicking and looking, but I think money is tight for people."

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or at dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com