Businesses as excited as the fans
Call it the "American Idol " glow.
Fans of show alumnus Chris Daughtry aren't the only ones feeling stomach flutters over the rocker's free show tonight at Hamburger Square.
Downtown retailers and restaurateurs, particularly those with businesses near Elm and McGee streets, have been rushing all week to get ready for a potential onslaught of more than 20,000 people.
At Cheesecakes by Alex on Elm Street, the staff has been working double-time to produce food to satisfy the crowds that could begin to hit downtown this morning. Owner Alex Amoroso said his business will stay open until concertgoers stop placing dessert orders.
"It's more of a Christmas week than a spring week for us," Amoroso said of the store's preparations.
For restaurants, bars and a few retailers, the much-hyped show seems cause for celebration. Christina Brown , whose shop, Just Be , sits across from the stage, will keep her doors open (and her new bubble-maker pouring bubbles into the Elm-McGee intersection) until the last shopper leaves.
"I have no idea what to expect, honestly," said Brown, who catered to shoppers until midnight during the Get Down! Town event in September.
Expect to be swamped, said Malorie Holloway , manager at Natty Greene's Brewing Co.
She has heard from parents who plan to pull their children out of school early and park themselves on the restaurant's patio for the day. That's fine — as long as they're buying.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we're completely booked up by 11 a.m.," Holloway said.
The brewery, near the center of tonight's activity, has doubled its staff for the day and plans to make beer available at three outdoor kiosks.
By contrast, a more subdued crowd will gather across Elm Street to watch the show through the windows at clothing store O'Kennedy's.
Owner Ches Kennedy has planned a private party of no more than 75 guests — each of whom has given at least $1,000 to a non-profit group dedicated to finding an early biological test for breast cancer.
No shopping will go on at the reception, which starts about
7 p.m. But Kennedy doesn't think he'll be missing out.
"If I were a restaurant, if I were a bar, I mean, those guys would be crazy not to take advantage of this," he said. "But for my business, where we like to give one-on-one service, we'd have to let people in three at a time."
Still, clothing store owner Theresa Williamson plans to cater to the crowds. She has planned a public party at her shop, Hints, starting at 5 p.m., with food, drink and a DJ spinning in the front window.
Williamson and other retailers said they might station security guards at their shop doors to stem the flow of people — and alcohol — in and out.
And it's not just stores and food outlets grabbing a piece of the action.
Visitors downtown can get the first peek at the McGee Lofts, a series of new homes completed Thursday on McGee Street. The project's developer plans to hold an open house from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., when rock band Athenaeum takes the stage to open for Daughtry.
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