Lorain looks toward economic boost of Rockin' on the River's return

LORAIN — As a weekly concert series returns to Lorain, the city looks toward an economic boom as warm weather approaches. Rockin' on the River will return May 28 at Black River Landing, after the coronavirus pandemic forced its previous season to be first postponed, then canceled outright. Last year was supposed to be the year that the new Broadway Streetscape melded with the annual concert series, bringing increased foot traffic and revenue to a downtown on the rise. "This entertainment industry has been the hardest hit of any — there's not a waitress or a waiter or a bar owner or a server … a sound guy or a sound company, or a band, food concessionary … that haven't lost everything that they've worked for," promoter Bob Earley said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon announcing Rockin' on the River's return. But industry professionals kept going, he said. So too, did the city. "We're entering our fifth or sixth season of Rockin' on the River," said Tom Brown, Lorain Port Authority executive director. "All of our momentum was keyed towards 2020 and then who knew? So everything comes crashing down and then we had hoped, because of the size of this site, that we could give people something." Looking to paint circles on the lawn to denote social distancing, the Port Authority was willing to do anything to keep Black River Landing open. But an executive order from Gov. Mike DeWine canceling outdoor entertainment and large gatherings ended those plans. "So we gave up at that point," he said — losing $10,000 in revenue from Rockin' on the River alone. Mayor Jack Bradley didn't have a hard estimate for how much the city lost from the canceled season, but guessed it could be close to $1 million to $1.5 million. Without federal funds to help the city, and its businesses, he said there would have been some financial hardship. The Ariel on Broadway hotel, which held its grand opening 10 days before the March 2020 shutdown, had been set to thrive on the weekly concert series — housing bands and attendees from outside the city. Still, developer Radhika Reddy said the facility was to fall back on rooftop events, financial support from the city and revenue from her accounting business. Reddy and her team invested in the former Broadway Building, previously the Spitzer Plaza Hotel, renovating it to accommodate an event center, restaurants, and office and retail space. Its opening timeline didn't allow it to apply for federal coronavirus loans, but it did receive $150,000 from the city's CARES Act funds to help offset the roughly $30,000 a month it lost, according to previous reporting. "We know hotels are a very risky business, so we wouldn't have undertaken this if we didn't know our accounting business could support the debts," she said. "So we had enough revenue from our accounting business to support the hotel debt and that's why we undertook it — we knew we were going to have a tough time, first two or three years, so we were prepared for it." Now, its staff are booking events for this year, and restarting its rooftop series. "It'll still be a rough year because more than half the year will be lost," Reddy said. "But we hope 2022 will be very good." Brown said the Port Authority also survived, working on economic development projects like the Colorado Avenue Industrial Park and others — but no entertainment at Black River Landing made for a slow, quiet summer. The hope is for 2021 to see a sustained increase in midweek use of the Landing for dog walkers and lunchgoers looking for somewhere to sit and enjoy Lake Erie, with added weekend events. For many members of Main Street Lorain, this will be the first year seeing thousands of people coming to Lorain on the weekends, President Kurt Hernon said. He and his wife, Page, have seen the crowds at their cocktail bar, Speak of the Devil, but many Broadway businesses opened in 2020. "I've had the experience at Speak of the Devil and we were never big enough to contain everyone, so it's huge because what those businesses have been through, had it been a normal year they would've had amazing starts — and same to the hotel with people who'd stay (for Rockin' on the River) ... that definitely had a huge impact," he said. "The most fascinating part of it all is they don't realize it, but they will this summer." Everyone made it through, with some help from the city's CARES funds, or other grant programs, he said. Unless guidelines change, Rockin' on the River will be limited to 30 percent capacity — or roughly 1,200 attendees per show. While it's lower than the 6,000 to 8,000 of other years, Hernon said the influx will still show new business owners their venture wasn't a foolhardy one. "I think it's going to feel like a celebration that everybody made it there together, because we didn't lose anybody along the way right now," he said. "Nothing got crazily derailed. … All it's going to do is make the success feel that much sweeter at the end of the stretch." For a full schedule of this season's concerts and to purchase tickets, visit rockinontheriver.com. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.