TRAVERSE CITY -- Tom Menzel expected a strong year for the National Cherry Festival, but couldn't have predicted it would go so well.
"We thought we'd have a good festival, but we definitely didn't expect that we'd have the numbers that came," said Menzel, who wrapped his third and possibly final year as festival executive director. "For tickets sales, the midway, vendors, revenues were all up. All the areas were up."
Bill Coty manages J&S; Hamburg downtown and said business boomed at the diner's Open Space tent.
"We were extremely busy," Coty said. "We doubled what we did last year, or close to it. I've been doing this for 11 years and I'd like to think this is the biggest Cherry Festival I've ever seen."
Sales of Grand Traverse Pie Company products eclipsed any from the business' previous 12 years at the festival, said co-founder Denise Busley.
"Usually people come to Traverse City, but then move on, but they're not doing that this year," Busley said. "They're splurging in Traverse City. Our sales might not have doubled, but they were up. Definitely, our midweek sales were better this year than they've ever been."
Festival sponsorship revenue increased 16 percent from last year and Wicksell Distributing, which provided beer for the festival's beer tent, reported that July 11 was the best day in company history.
Tourists' dollars extended beyond the festival and Open Space. Five out of six local Tom's Food Stores had record sales, while Oleson's Food Stores, Sam's Club and Glen's Market all reported high sales.
The Traverse City Visitors Bureau reported an increase of 6.4 percent in the number of people who stopped for information. Bureau President Brad Van Dommelen said it appeared more people stayed in the area longer than usual, likely because of the bad economy.
"People might be saying, 'Well, if we're going to spend the gas money to get up here, we might as well make it worthwhile and spend more time here," he said. "Or it might be that they're looking at this as the summer vacation."
Both Menzel and Van Dommelen said the fact that the Fourth of July fell on a Friday, along with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels appearance and near-perfect weather, made for outstanding Cherry Festival conditions.
And all those people needed somewhere to stay.
"We had record numbers all week, both inside and outside," said Deb Brown, Holiday Inn West Bay's general manager. "July in general is going to be a very good month for us."
