Teddy Boileau of The Shamrock talks with fairgoer Diane Pfadenhauer 9/4/15.
The lack of entertainment acts booked for the Grandstand at the NYS Fair this year has had a direct effect on many of the food vendors whose business depended on them. A bulk of their sales were from patrons who would stop out to have something to eat and/or drink on their way to the show. Without anything to draw people to that area of the Fair (the wine tent was moved as well) sales have dropped dramatically. There are many days when vendors aren’t able to make the rent.
I talked with Teddy Boileau of The Shamrock, one of the vendors located in the area near the Grandstand. Business is down significantly this year he says,as the crowds of fairgoers has shifted towards other areas of the Fair. “Without the Grandstand shows, people just don’t come out this way as much. That was our main draw.”
While details for the re-designed Fair are slowly being released, I’m hoping to see something that will take into account long time vendors who have been hit hard this year in that area. I’ll admit, I never even thought how these businesses would be affected and I couldn’t figure out why the people traffic in that area was so slow. Sadly, now I know.
