Business traffic steady as eclipse enthusiasts descend on Falls

Apr. 8—The big show won't happen for a few hours yet, but downtown Niagara Falls is starting to fill up with traffic from eclipse enthusiasts.

Vendors and business owners say, the weekend, especially on Sunday, offered a steady stream of customers.

Several who were around in 2012 when daredevil Nik Wallenda walked a tightrope across the Falls, say pre-eclipse business has not been on par with that event, which drew tens of thousands of people to downtown and Niagara Falls State Park.

Still, they say, eclipse weekend has been more like a busy holiday weekend during the typical tourism season.

"Business has been great," said Gaelen Baillie, owner of Sight See Rentals, a vendor that rents bikes, scooters and wheelchairs out of a kiosk located on Old Falls Street, across from the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park. "It's been a great weekend. Saturday was a little bit slower. Sunday was fantastic. I don't know what to expect for today. We're almost sold out of stuff."

Baillie described Sunday's traffic as what his business normally sees on a busy Sunday in July.

"I'll take it in early April," he said. "I can't complain in early April. The numbers were fantastic."

Michelle Vecchies, co-owner of Flip Burger, a burger shop also located on Old Falls Street, said Sunday was not as busy as she expected and not on the level of the Wallenda event.

As of 11 a.m. Monday, just over four hours away from the scheduled full solar eclipse, she was expecting business to pick up, possibly big time.

"I just think all of the people are going to be here today for the most part," she said.

While local and state officials expressed concern about the potential for a crush of traffic to cause backups on main entranceways into the city, the Robert Moses Parkway, Buffalo Avenue and most of the streets downtown were clear early Monday.

By noon, traffic was picking up, especially on downtown streets and in the area near Niagara Falls State Park. Parking lots across downtown were also running out of room.

Rebecca Reisch, owner of The Drunkin Candle Shop, a vendor that set up a tent to sell candles and other products on Old Falls Street for eclipse weekend, described the traffic on Sunday and through early Monday as pleasantly steady.

The Niagara Falls resident had never done an event downtown before and said she and her sister, Gretchen, who was helping her for the day, have been impressed by the wide range of visitors they've interacted with from across the United States and around the world.

"I absolutely loved being down here," she said. "I want to vend down here in the summer.

We have just really been enjoying getting people from Georgia, Philadelphia, Maryland. So it's kind of opened my eyes. Being here this weekend has been great. It's been a really nice experience," she added.

Local hotels have been booked for weeks in the run-up to today's eclipse.

Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, one of the largest attractions in the city, is hosting a family-friendly eclipse-viewing event featuring food trucks, games and live entertainment.

Melissa Free, chief marketing officer, Seneca Gaming Corp., said, so far in terms of business, eclipse weekend is living up to to expectations.

"Our hotel was at full capacity all weekend with some guests coming to Seneca Niagara from as far away as Japan and England," she said. "We also saw a lot of energy and excitement around downtown Niagara Falls. We're excited to be a part of people's plans for this once-in-a-lifetime event."