Rapid City’s downtown concert series Summer Nights appears to be on the move. The local council has unanimously voted to renew the popular event’s permit but investigate new locations.
Summer Nights has historically been held at 7th Street, with a significant portion of St. Joseph Street, an important downtown Rapid City thoroughfare, closed to accommodate the event.
As a result of that road closure, some local businesses have voiced concerns that the event is diverting people from their doors, rather than drawing them in.
However, that is not a consensus opinion, and some downtown businesses support its current location. Jesse Lee operates the Good Stuffed Food Truck.
“I can’t tell you how much my business has been greatly affected by Summer Nights," Lee said. "March 2017, shortly after moving here I heard about huge, incredible downtown event called Summer Nights, that you had to be a part of if you were a food vender in this town.
For the most part, speakers from the food and drink business were in favor of leaving Summer Nights in place. Tim Roman owns Thirsty’s and Murphy’s, two downtown restaurants upstream from the stage.
“We’re thriving off this event," Roman said. "I ran the numbers, only 14% of our revenue per year is off alcohol – and we only serve beer too, so pretty mellow. This event does really well for us, and really helps bring in more revenue.”
But that was not universal, especially among retailers along St. Joe. Among the dissent was Black Hills Vinyl owner Michael Calabrese, who was motivated enough to write a poem summarizing much of the opposition to the event.
“The first sign of trouble, the streets were all jammed. Delivery trucks were stopped turned and crammed," Calabrese said. "A baker stood waiting, his flour delayed. Without my ingredients, I can’t get paid. Shoppers arrived but could not park. The streets blocked off from morning to dark.
Following the council’s vote, it’s unclear what the future holds for the concert series.