Business the focus at reimagined State of Surf City at Pier Plaza
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Huntington Beach is known for hosting big events each summer, but that calendar is not necessarily confined to June, July and August.
The Future Proof financial festival, which is the world’s largest wealth festival, returns to the beach on Monday. A couple of weeks later, the Pacific Airshow comes to town.
And Justin Simpson, general manager of the Kimpton Shorebreak Resort, remembers when the Darker Waves music festival drove visitors to his hotel on a random November weekend in 2023. That festival returns this year, so Simpson knows what to expect.
“Big pop on that weekend, where we already know ahead of time that we’re going to be busy and we can plan around that,” Simpson said. “It just complements what we’re already going to do, which is push group business in the midweek, you know right before that.”
Business was the name of the game Thursday, when Simpson, PRJKT Restaurant Group founder Alicia Cox and Pacific City marketing director Jennifer Williams all participated in a panel at the reimagined State of Surf City event at Pier Plaza.
The event, put on by the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, switched from what was a breakfast event to a showcase including an expo that highlighted Huntington Beach businesses and city departments.
Huntington Beach is a key player in tourism countywide. Last year, about 2.4 million visitors to Huntington Beach spent $585 million in the city, resulting in $757 million in total economic impact, according to a study released by Visit Huntington Beach.
Paul Simonds, the senior vice president and chief operating officer at Orange County Business Council, asked the panelists about business opportunities — and challenges — in Surf City.
Cox, who operates the concessions at Huntington State Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach, said she knows that businesses struggle with the off-season. She closes the concessions when Pacific Standard Time arrives in the fall and comes up with a business plan, but even that window is an extension of what was previously recommended.
“When I first came out here and started this doing this on the beach, we were only asked to open in 100 days of summer,” Cox said. “And it took a moment to start realizing that we could open in May and September.”
Still, businesses can have to get creative during the “shoulder season” — the tourism term for the transitional period between the peak and off-peak seasons.
“We definitely slow down in the off-season when it gets dark at 5 o’clock,” said Williams, of Pacific City, the retail hub located south of the pier. “You know, people aren’t out at the beach wandering around and things like that. So, we definitely feel the pain and we try to focus on our locals again and bring them back. The locals are what sustain us in the shoulder seasons, so we really want to have the locals, you know, come back, enjoy it. We know that summer can be a little challenging here with the tourism and stuff like that, but they need to come and enjoy us in the off-season as well.”
The three business representatives shared their love of the locals. Simpson shared that at his hotel, Huntington Beach residents are in the top 15 cities in terms of city of residence, meaning that some just like a “stay-cation” at the beach.
“When you flip into that ‘group’ guest [after summer] now somebody from Omaha, Nebraska is coming here,” Simpson said. “They haven’t been to the beach. They haven’t been to Huntington. They may not know what this experience is like. We’re showing them a whole different culture. When they walk around, it’s a little bit more wide-eyed, and they just love to see the surfers in the morning when they go walk the pier.
“They’re taking pictures everywhere. And you know, they’re buying swag to take back to their family. So, the experience is different. And obviously, they go out and drink more. When you’re on a business trip and somebody’s picking the tab up, you’ll go out and hit the bars a little heavier.”
During his comments, Mayor Casey McKeon highlighted business-friendly programs that have been created, including Streamline Surf City.
“We want to encourage investment, support our existing businesses, attract new businesses that fit Huntington Beach and protect the unique character that makes people want to open a business here in the first place,” McKeon said. “So, business friendly doesn’t mean just giving businesses a free pass. It means having a government that is responsive, predictable, accessible and fair. And that’s an environment that we all deserve.”
A VIP reception at Sandy’s Beach Shack followed the event.
