Staff members at Duross & Langel have cleaned the shop’s windows about 25 times a day since two fiberglass donkeys were installed to promote the Democratic National Convention, which runs July 25-28.
Foot traffic has noticeably increased as people peer in the windows or enter to take photos, said Steve Duross, one of the owners of the soap and lotion atelier at 13th and Sansom streets.
With 50,000 people headed to Philadelphia for the convention, Duross expected some increase in sales. But he’s equally interested in being part of the excitement in the city.
“What we’re seeing is more people noticing our shop than before,” he said. “It’s a sort of camaraderie we’re trying to create. It’s about sharing the spirit of Philadelphia. This is a business that’s proudly owned and operated by several gay partners.”
PGN surveyed several businesses in the Gayborhood and found mixed reviews ahead of the convention. Some were actively courting the influx of people using the hashtag #DNCDeals on social media. Others expected they wouldn’t make any more money than usual, while hoping business would not be as dead as it was during Pope Francis’ visit in September.
At Duross & Langel, staff painted two posts blue with white stars and attached red and white papier-mâché blossoms to the ceiling.
The store was supposed to display only one donkey as part of a citywide art project called “Donkeys Around Town.” But, when another location dropped out, Duross thought, “You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
STEVE DUROSS WITH ONE OF TWO DONKEYS ON DISPLAY AT DUROSS & LANGEL IN THE GAYBORHOOD
The shop now hosts a donkey painted to represent New Jersey and another for South Carolina. Jeleata Nicole, the artist for the South Carolina donkey, will visit Duross & Langel from 5:30-7 p.m. July 27 for a meet-and-greet with sweets and tea for the guests. It’s free and open to the public. For sale will be 100 bars of a DNC-themed soap featuring a donkey kicking an elephant.
Johnny Goodtimes, one of the owners of Shibe Vintage Sports at 13th and Walnut streets, also created specialty merchandise for the convention. The shop will carry a shirt that says, “Happy days are here again,” with a beer mug in the center. It’s from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1932 campaign in which he promised to repeal Prohibition. Another shirt will feature the program from the 1936 Democratic convention.
“I think that one’s going to be a big hit,” Goodtimes said, adding, “I think the whole week will be a big party in Philadelphia. I don’t think we’re expecting a record-setting week’s sales, but definitely a bump.”
Anthony Noce, owner of Nutz and Boltz at Spruce and Camac streets, decided to keep his merchandise more politically neutral. His window display features three male mannequins in patriotically patterned underwear surrounded by American flags.
“I really just don’t want to alienate anyone,” he said. “There are still Republicans and gay ones who live here.”
Noce is planning a sidewalk sale during the week of the convention, but he wasn’t sure he would see too much extra business since his store is tucked away from the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Wells Fargo Center, where the majority of the political events are taking place.
Noce said he thought he would have more people in Nutz and Boltz during the multi-bar Philly4Pulse fundraiser this week. His store is selling memorial T-shirts to raise money for victims and their families in this summer’s mass shooting at Pulse, a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando.
Green Eggs Café, which normally has a line snaking down 13th street for brunch on the weekends, will be staffed at weekend-level for the length of the convention, said Mark Nierle, a server at the café.
“This weekend is probably going to be really busy because everyone is coming in at the same time,” he said.
But Nierle wasn’t sure it would stay packed for the rest of the week. He thought most people would be concentrated in South Philadelphia for easy access to the Wells Fargo Center.
“We’re preparing ourselves for craziness,” he said, “but we’ll see.”