Thirsty visitors at Ogden's 21st annual Street Festival this Saturday can get a cold beer from any of several beer booths, and that makes some residents and downtown merchants hot.

Local merchants who close their doors during the festival say tipsy revelers barge into their businesses looking for bathrooms and heckle their customers.But event organizers say there are few reported problems from beer-swilling partygoers.

"Last year, there were really no incidents," city special events coordinator Lauryn Miller said of the city's beer booths.

The festival - held on Washington Boulevard from 22nd to 26th streets and winding down historic 25th Street - features swarms of vendors, hot food and frosty drinks. Local bands also perform on six stages.

Miller said cold beer is a hot commodity in the sweltering sun, and most businesses, especially the pubs on 25th Street, don't object to beer vendors on the street.

"Actually, it's a trade-off," she said. "Some people go into those establishments to buy beer and to get out of the sun."

However, popular eateries and coffee shops on 25th Street such as Daily Grind and La Ferrovia plan to shut their doors for the day. Several other shops closed during last year's festival.

And Ogden City Mall manager Kevin Ireland and ZCMI manager Bruce Larson have sought major changes in the beer policy - at the very least confining alcohol to a designated area.

Ireland said the mall loses money each year during the festival because it must hire extra security.

Larson said the LDS Church-owned ZCMI does not like beer being sold directly outside its doors.

"I think the street festival is very detrimental to the downtown area," Larson said at a meeting after the event last year.

Mayor Glenn J. Mecham said there has been concern about the sale of beer at the festival for several years. He said event organizers should monitor the crowd this year to determine if the city should only allow the sale of beer in a "beer garden."

"A beer garden, perhaps like those in Hof, Germany, could make it even more festive," Mecham said.

The Historic 25th Street Business Association and Downtown Ogden Inc. wholeheartedly agree.

"Our group has been pushing for a beer garden at Municipal Gardens," said Dan Musgrave, executive director of Downtown Ogden Inc.

Musgrave and Mecham said there has been some grumbling from some businesses that beer should be banned during the event.

"I had people tell me that they would never dare take their grandchildren down there," Mecham said.

Shawna Tenney, co-owner of Delights of Ogden, said Utah's liquor laws hinder places like Delights. Customers must order food with liquor and cannot leave the restaurant with an alcoholic beverage.

View Comments

"People (at the festival) aren't interested in fine dining," she said. "They'd rather have a hamburger or something like that. People who sell beer do real well. It's a good day for them."

Tenney's eatery will be closed for the day, but will sponsor a dutch-oven cooking contest in front of the restaurant.

City officials said that halting city beer sales would eliminate two-thirds of the total revenue.

The city sells about $35,000 worth of beer at numerous booths during the event.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.