CLOVERDALE'S FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT SERIES HITS SOUR NOTE: CITY SETS HEARING ON COMPLAINTS BY SOME MERCHANTS THAT EVENT CUTTING INTO PROFITS

Cloverdale's Friday Night Live concerts were started seven years ago to to attract people downtown, and judging by the growing attendance, they're working.

But the series also has struck a sour note for some merchants who complain it's taken away customers.

"It really detracts from our mainstay, or main night, of business," said Ken Brenk of the Mary's Pizza Shack in Cloverdale.

He said Friday night is the biggest of the week for him. But when the 13-week concert series kicks off in June, Brenk said business drops by about 50 percent.

He would like to see the event moved to another night and has asked city officials to do so.

While a City Council finance subcommittee hearing is set to discuss the issue on March 25, it appears unlikely the concerts will be re-scheduled.

"Anytime that either a resident or merchant says, 'Look, I have a problem,' we take it seriously," Mayor Carol Russell said.

But she said Friday Night Live "has done a fabulous job for the city. The overwhelming number of people tell me, 'I want it on Friday night. It's when I'm free, when my family can come.'"

The concert series from 7 to 9 p.m. is held in conjunction with the farmers market, which starts an hour earlier.

The two events occupy a two-block stretch of Cloverdale Boulevard around the downtown plaza, and the streets are closed to motor vehicles.

City officials said Friday Night Live regularly draws 1,000 people every week, and the dance music bands increasingly bring visitors from other communities, including Santa Rosa and Ukiah.

It's also convenient to have the event at the end of the week for Cloverdale residents, many of whom commute out of town for work.

Cloverdale is a town that shuts down early at night. And in tough economic times, business owners say many people can't afford to go out more than once a week.

Some critics of the Friday Night event say it is no accident that other cities schedule their live music or street fairs on other days. Healdsburg has its Plaza concerts on Tuesdays, Santa Rosa's Fourth Street Market is on Wednesday and Windsor's Town Green events are on Thursdays.

Friday Night Live is a fundraiser for the Cloverdale Arts Alliance, which sells wine and beer there, but it also is subsidized by city redevelopment funds.

Besides produce sold at the farmers market, some local merchants sell food, such as Mexican fare, hot dogs, hamburgers and tri-tip sandwiches.

Chamber of Commerce officials are surveying businesses to get their opinions on Friday Night Live. For the most part the results are positive, chamber Director Carla Howell said.

"It seems to be working for other businesses," she said.

There were, however, complaints from the downtown movie theater owner that Friday Night Live was hurting his attendance.

Councilwoman Mary Ann Brigham, who owns Ruth McGowan's Brew Pub, said the event definitely cuts into business.

"There probably isn't a restaurant in town, unless it's on the square, in the middle of it, that doesn't feel the hit," she said.

"It's fun, it's the summer. It's free music. It's a lot of cheap food. Why would they go off the square?" she said of the crowd.

Brigham said she has had to find other ways to drum up business, including serving brunch and launching a bottling line for her beer.

For Mary's Pizza Shack, the problem seems to be exacerbated by its distance from the event. The restaurant is in a shopping center more than a mile south of the downtown.

Brenk said he considered opening a food booth at the Friday event, but it would be a break-even proposition at best.

"We looked into the economics. It doesn't make sense," he said. "It can't really make money for us."

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com