With Halloween and the annual Freakfest celebration quickly approaching, businesses along State Street have been anticipating the rush of excess customers, as well as the potential for disorderly conduct.
""It's definitely always better sale-wise,"" Alex Felland, a bartender at State Street Brats, said. ""It's one of our busier weekends of the year, but there's also some drawbacks with more underage drinkers and overly intoxicated patrons.""
The bar plans to have more staff on hand for the event, Felland said.
""For late-night bouncers we'll have a meeting with how to deal with an excessive crowd and people in costumes,"" he added.
Felland also said the bar will not admit patrons whose costumes prevent the bouncer from matching their faces to their ID.
""I've seen in previous years underage patrons trying to get by when their ID might not look like them,"" he said.
Because of Daylight Savings Time ending early Sunday morning, bars are legally able to stay open an extra hour after clocks are turned back at 2 a.m.
""[The extra hour] has not caused any problems in the past,"" Cpt. Mary Schauf of the Madison Police Department said. ""It seems like most years we run into this issue with Daylight Savings Time, so it's something we've dealt with in the past.""
Felland said Brats will likely stay open the extra hour.
Frida Mexican Grill, further down State Street, will also stay open the extra hour early on Sunday.
""[Freakfest] definitely brings more people into the business, and we do have to stock a significantly higher amount of supplies for the weekend,"" Patrick Kleven, a bartender at Frida, said.
Bop, a fashion boutique on the corner of State and Gorham Streets, is also bringing in extra staff members for the event.
""We have security guards that stand outside our door, and that helps to deter anything bad from happening, because things have gotten so crazy in the past,"" Kristin Hanefeld, the store manager, said.
Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, said there has been an awareness of safety and security issues among the businesses on State Street.
""It's been a great way to improve the business side of Freakfest,"" he said.
