"It's been brutal."
So says Jeremy Bradford, special event coordinator and area manager for pizza-maker Papa Murphy's, talking about business early last Sunday underneath the food chain's nearly-empty tent at the Clark County Fair in Ridgefield.
Bradford wasn't alone in his pessimism. Of more than a half-dozen vendors interviewed, all reported a sizeable year-to-year drop in cash-flow on the last morning of the 10-day fair and carnival.
Some blamed the continuing sour economy for keeping carnival-goers' wallets glued shut. Others chalked-up this year's decline to their location on the 160-acre fairgrounds. And almost all blamed the weather, which was mostly cloudy and stuck in the 60s for much of the fair.
However, there was at least one silver lining to last week's gloomy weather. Theo Erdy-Wollheim, a worker at one of four or five booths operated by Portland-based Mighty Hawk Concessions, reported a big jump in sweatshirt sales from people looking to bundle up against last week's unseasonable chill.
Like many others at the fair, Mighty Hawk's t-shirt booth rarely turns out a big profit. But business this year had been particularly bad, according to Erdy-Wollheim. "There's been a lot of people coming in, liking something, but saying, ‘I don't have the cash right now,'" he said.
The slim-times for many vendors came even as fair attendance remained steady, with an estimated 243,698 people filing through the gates, as opposed to 264,998 last year, according to a Clark County Fair spokesperson.
Many fair-goers, especially large families, seemed anxious to stay within their budget despite plenty of nudging and pleas from the kids.
"That's not how we plan to spend our vacation money," said Seattle-area resident Joanne Case, balking at the $30 price-tag for a turn on a gigantic sling-shot for her young daughter. "That's just way too much."
For even more concrete evidence of a major factor behind much of the current economic downturn – the continued free-fall in consumer spending – one had to look no further than L.A. Spas' deserted tent at the Clark County Fair.
Business at the hot tub retailer's tent has been down four consecutive years, though none of the annual declines have been as pronounced as this year. Sales for these "luxury" items are down 20 percent from 2008, according to L.A. Spas' Cheyenne Mahncke.
Only adding to their woes, while the store has cut their prices to get more customers through the door, product manufactures have not followed suit, according to Mahncke. The result has been razor-thin profit margins – and that's only after closing a tough sale.
"Even people with money aren't spending," Mahncke said. "Everyone is saying that they're going to wait until things get better, though nobody knows when that's going to be."
For others, the slow sales at this year's fair have been less catastrophic. Papa Murphy's completed its first year at the fair, operating a large tent adjacent to the Clark County Amphitheater – part of a larger mobile trend for the Vancouver-based take-and-bake giant.
This summer, Papa Murphy's food truck has been spotted at fundraisers for schools and churches, in addition to the fair, according to Bradford. "The truck has been a really great way to get our name out there, and to be part of what the community is part of," he said.
If Papa Murphy does return to the fair next year, Bradford says he'll be on the lookout for a better location. "The fact that we're off the beaten path [behind the Grandstand bleachers] is definitely not helpful," he said.
Across the fairgrounds, Staff Sgt. Robert Gauvin and Sgt. Matthew Freeman, manning the U.S. Army Recruiting station, seemed pleased with their tent's location. The two dog-lovers spent their time Sunday morning posing for pictures with canines competing at the fair's Dock Dogs "Speed Retrieve" competition.
As for business, how were things going for Uncle Sam?
"It's been busy, that's all I can say," Gauvin said.
