WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2004
JULY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
.
1
13
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Melody Moody, Topeka resident, exits Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop, 802 Massachusetts St. The store plans on having a dunk tank for Lawrence's annual downtown sidewalk sale on July 15.
Merchants prepare for downtown sale
By Abby Tillery atilley@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Preparations have already started for Lawrence's annual downtown sidewalk sale. The 33rd annual sale will begin in the early hours on Thursday, July 15.
It starts when the sun comes up and doesn't end until the sun goes down, said Maria Martin, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., 900 Massachusetts St. and owner of Southwest and More, 727 Massachusetts St.
DLI is the mastermind behind the annual event, promoting and coordinating the entire day.
Jenn Fortune, manager at Creation Station, 726 Massachusetts St., plans to mark down the sale items the Monday before the sidewalk sale, in an attempt to avoid staying up late marking down all the items the night before.
Dan Hughes, co-owner of Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop, 802 Massachusetts St., said he was looking into getting a dunk tank for the day. He described the day as a "spectacle."
Staffing for the businesses will be more than usual. Hughes said some former employees would come back just for the day of the sidewalk sale.
4.
"It's an all-hands-on-deck deal," Hughes said.
Stores like Urban Outfitters, 1013 Massachusetts St., prepare the week of the event. Unlike some of the locally owned stores, its home office has to approve items for the sale.
Stephen Wolfe, housewares manager for Urban Outfitters, said in the threeand-a-half years he had been at the store it had never run out of sale items, but had come close.
The day is the biggest single day of the
year for Sunflower, Hughes said. When marking down items he first starts with the products from the fall that didn't sell. Then he moves to the spring items that aren't selling as fast as the management had expected.
Marking down every item in the store has been and will be the signature mark of Creation Station during the sidewalk sale. Fortune said.
"We try to come up with what will be good deals," he said.
She estimated 10 to 12 employees would be working that day. Like Hughes, Fortune will call on old employees to help out.
Retail stores are not the only businesses that have to prepare for an increase in customers.
The Mad Greek Restaurant, 907 Massachusetts St., will set up a food stand on the sidewalk selling gyros, restaurant manager Liz Hiersche said.
Rudy's Pizzeria, 704 Mass. St., has one more staff member than usual, said manager Josh Reese. There is an influx of business for the day for different things depending on what the weather is like, he said.
The pizza place doesn't plan to purchase extra supplies for the day, because not all of its supplies will have been used from the week before, he said.
"If it's superdooper hot and it's the sidewalk sale, drink sales go through the roof." he said.
DLI will purchase television and newspaper ads at the beginning of July to promote the sidewalk sale. DLI had already started two months ago with the purchasing of permits to use the sidewalks for the day, Martin said.
"The sidewalk belongs to DLI that day," she said.
Edited by John Scheirman
804 Massachusetts St.·Downtown Lawrence·(785) 843-5000 www.sunfloweroutdoorandbike.com