Chasco Street Parade a Hassle to Some Downtown Businesses, a Boon to Others

On the third day of the 11-day at 1 p.m., the streets of downtown New Port Richey will come alive with marching bands, clowns and elaborately costumed krewes whose members fling beads into the crowd while riding on colorful floats.

While tens of thousands of revelers are expected to line Grand Boulevard from Gulf Drive to Circle Boulevard, and Bank Street and then onto Main Street to U.S. 19, on Saturday, March 26, there is one thing that will essentially come to a complete stop as the dozens of floats pass: storefront retail business.

To some business owners, the Chasco street parade is the one event put on by the  that does precisely the opposite of what an organization that promotes businesses is supposed to do. To others, it’s a boon to the area.

“With all the businesses that are hurting in the first place, why do they keep doing things that keep people away from our businesses?” asked Karen Legault, owner of on Grand Boulevard. “Most often we end up closing down and going home,” Legault said.

Sure, she occasionally has people wander into her shop during the street parade, but her cash register doesn’t usually open.

“It brings people in – ‘Do you have a bathroom we could use?’” she said, mimicking those she has encountered during what she calls “Chasco Fiasco.” “They’re not here to shop.”

She said it bothers her so much that she’s even threatened to bill the chamber for the cost of toilet paper and soap used by paradegoers. The events that block off the path to her shop have even caused her to quit paying her chamber membership dues.

“What do they do for me?” she said.

Wendy Brenner, executive director for the Chasco Fiesta, said that kind of mentality needs to be changed.

“I don’t think there’s any other event in the Pasco that brings as many people to the county as Chasco,” she said. “What I try to stress to the business owners is sure, it might be difficult getting around the parade, and parking can be a pain in the neck, but the people who come, they’re going to come back if they like what they see. It has an incredible impact. …. I think it’s an economic boon to the area.”

Lisa Morris, co-owner of , said she learned the hard way when she and the other owners opened up shop on Grand Boulevard five years ago. They tried to stay open for business on parade day but quickly discovered that parking was “non-existent,” and the crowds created challenges for her store.

“There were so many people it was actually difficult getting into the doors,” Morris said.

That’s when she decided it was better to join the fun rather than open her shop. Now that she recently moved Cheri Bloom to Main Street, she will follow her regular plan of attending the parade rather than fighting it.

“We like to bring out family and have a good time,” she said.

She will also seize the moment as a marketing opportunity, just as she did when the store was on Grand Boulevard. She tapes business cards to her door for prospective customers.

“They’re always gone,” Morris said cheerfully.

She’s actually a fan of the chamber’s largest event.

“The more people they bring into downtown, I think that’s awesome,” she said.

Brenner said the first Chasco back in 1922 was a fundraiser for the local library and the event continues to stick with its roots today, supporting at least 30 not-for-profit organizations.

“We pretty much touch everyone in the community,” she said

While others shutter their stores for the day, there are some for-profit businesses that remain open during the parade, primarily restaurants and bars. For them, it’s a day like none other.

“It’s probably the biggest day of the year,” said Debbie Corriere, bartender for  on Grand Boulevard.

She said the lounge starts gearing up for the parade long in advance by double ordering on liquor and quadrupling their beer order. They at least double their staff, too. Sales on parade day, she estimates, are triple a typical day.

“It’s amazing,” Corriere said of Chasco. “They bring us a lot of business.”

Some of the regulars don’t come in on parade day because of parking problems, but they seem to understand, she added. The absence of familiar faces, they gain in visitors.

Even with beer tents set up in several downtown locations, Corriere said, it doesn’t seem to affect the local bar business.

“A lot of people (are) drinking," she said. "It’s whatever they’re closest to, and people like to come in and they like to hang in the bar.”

Brenner said businesses need to follow the lead of bars and restaurants and embrace Chasco for what it is, and they will see the benefits.

“Those who get involved and stay open and have specials do well,” she said, adding that some establishments offer two-for-one deals or give away food samples on the sidewalks. “If you watch their cash registers, they have nothing to complain about.”