South Broadway is getting ready for another packed Saturday as the Halloween parade brings crowds back to the street. For restaurants, bars and shops, the event is shaping up to be one of the busiest days of the year.
Caitlin Braun said the parade has historically been one of the busiest days of the year, if not the busiest, for most of the bars and restaurants on the street. She said roughly 40,000 people attended last year, and that the event does more than fill sidewalks. It brings in people who may never have explored South Broadway before, turning a single day into a first look at the neighborhood.
That is why this weekend matters so much to business owners who measure success in foot traffic as much as sales. Braun said some places have already posted record days from other events, and she pointed to Porchfest as proof that new festivals can have an immediate impact on small businesses. For her, the parade fits into a larger run of events that have kept attention on the corridor.
Adrienne Scott-Trask said the Halloween parade is one of her favorite events in the area because it puts South Broadway in the spotlight. She said tomorrow will be a 15-hour workday for her, but called it one of the top one or two events of the year personally. For her, the value is not just the rush of customers on the day itself, but the chance that some of them will come back later.
Matthew Clark said Hi-Dive is leaning into that momentum with its first float in the parade this year. He said the festivals bring people down to see what Hi-Dive is doing, and that the venue, which he took over in 2012, has been a Broadway staple for 23 years. Clark said there is a real community on South Broadway, and that every new event helps more people see it for themselves.
Braun said there was a long-running narrative that things were not good on South Broadway, but she said that is not what she sees now. She said the area feels excited and busy, with new festivals coming and more eyes on the street. For the businesses lining Broadway, the parade is not just a crowd event; it is part of a stretch that is helping redefine how the neighborhood is seen.
The immediate question now is how long that surge lasts after Saturday. The parade will bring the crowd, but the real test for South Broadway is whether some of those visitors turn into the repeat customers businesses are counting on once the costumes are packed away.
