Mardi Gras Galveston has gotten off to a lukewarm start.
Tommie LeCroy, who owns a Louisiana-style grill called Bistro LeCroy, said his sales are down 40 percent compared to last year.
“It’s not been good at all,” said Lecroy, 56. “It’s too cold. I’m hoping tomorrow it’ll be warmer. If it warms up, everything goes great.
“The people just don’t drink that much beer and hurricanes when it’s cold.”
Lee Carter, a first-time beer vendor at the event, said he only sold 96 beers on Friday. He said he had hoped to sell more than 400 daily.
“Maybe it’s just the first weekend,” Carter said. “We need it to pick up.”
Temps are expected to be in the 40s and 50s for the next few days around here. I know that’s just breaking your heart up North.
At least someone is giving away a lot of product, whatever the crowd sizes may be.
Lynne Sassi said she believes attendance this year is down significantly. No figures were available late Saturday for Friday’s attendance.
The size of the crowd, however, hasn’t curbed the party mood on the Strand, she said.
“People are just begging for beads,” she said. “It’s been absolutely crazy.”
By early Saturday night, the Sassis already had run out of the 1,000 beaded necklaces they bought for $60 for the event’s opening weekend.
“Next weekend I’m spending $200 a night on beads,” Lynne Sassi said.
As Banjo notes, you don’t have to take your clothes off to get a boatload of beads. But a little flirting would help increase your odds (and your haul).