Junction merchants were enthusiastic about Summer Fest and many had strong sales during this year's three-day festival.

"I thought it was amazing," said Gretchen McAllister, a barista at Cupcake Royale and Verite Coffee, which recently opened a store at Alaska Street and California Avenue. "A lot of people didn't know we were here."

Trade in the new store during Summer Fest was "way busier than normal," she said, so much so they had to call in employees to work extra hours.

They warned customers coming to pick up special orders they'd have to park farther away than usual due to the festival crowd and closed streets, but people accepted the inconvenience in good spirit, McAllister said.

"We got a good bump in business and a lot of new clients," said Rachel Crocker, an employee at Sweetie, the women's clothing boutique. "Set-up was pretty key."

Sales at this year's summer festival were better than last year, said Jodie Kittelman, manager. Many people who wandered into the California Avenue store said they were from Burien, Des Moines and other areas just outside West Seattle, she said.

The store opened earlier and closed later than usual to make the most of the business opportunity.

Summer Fest affected different businesses in different ways.

It didn't help sell vitamins or food supplements at Pilgrim's Natureway despite offering punch cards worth 20 percent off all merchandise, said employee Becky Bykowski.

There was a lot of browsing but few sales, she said. Regular customers stayed away.

"Friday (the first day of Summer Fest) was our slowest day ever," she said.

Saturday was better but still amounted to only about half the sales of a normal Saturday, she said.

"Last year was our first year and we were excited," Bykowski said. "It just didn't work out."

They sent out coupons for free vitamins but none of the coupons were redeemed. They gave away free food. The store stayed open on Sunday last year, when it is usually closed.

The festival brings with it a lot of distractions, she said, such as vendors, crafts makers, information booths and other items that compete for the shopper's eye.

Then there are the crowds that require people to pay attention to where they're going instead of shopping as they navigate through the hundreds of people at the Summer Fest.

The West Seattle Street Festival once was a problem for Next to Nature, said Bea Mark, co-owner. Shoplifting at the store increased during the three-day event.

"Also our parking was violated," Mark said. Many people seem to think all parking behind Junction stores is free but that's not true, she said. Much of the parking is private, including Next to Nature's five parking spaces behind the store.

Festival attendees used to park in the store's parking spaces, preventing customers from picking up heavy bags of pet food. Rather than getting an economic bump, the festival cost the store money, so Next to Nature has closed during the festival the last few years, Mark said.

This year the store stayed open for Summer Fest and, while many regular customers stayed away, the store sold more gift items, Mark said.

To keep the store operating, Next to Nature assigned an employee to shoo away noncustomers who tried to park in the store's parking spaces.

The store also sponsored a festival booth that promoted animal nutrition and helped seven families adopt dogs.

"I thought the festival was very well run," Mark said. "It looked very good."

"For us it's always been a plus," said Bonita Corliss, co-owner of In Bloom, the urban gardening store.

The Junction festival takes a lot of preparation and then more time to dismantle everything, in addition to working longer hours operating a booth and running an in-store sale during the summer event. Nevertheless, sales were "very good," Corliss said.

"We've always gotten back whatever we put in," she said.

The festival brings a lot of new people to the Junction and stores get more exposure. Corliss just didn't care for much of the live music that was performed on the north stage, which was near In Bloom's front door. It was too loud too, she said.

Funky Jane's consignment shop doubled its sales compared to last year's Junction festival, said employee Stephanie Norris. Having merchandise out on the street enabled many new customers to discover Funky Jane's, she said.

The store stayed open an hour later, until 8 p.m., during the festival. Parking was not as bad as in the past either, she said.

About three-fourths of the people who stopped by Sound Advice were from Edmonds, Vashon Island and other places outside West Seattle, said employee Gary Larkin.

Sound Advice sells cell phones and other electronic gear. It sold more phone accessories than usual during Summer Fest, said Scott Menge, another Sound Advice employee.

The cash registers were singing at the Antique Mall of West Seattle too. Shoppers bought a wide variety of items from individual displays of relics assembled for sale by numerous antiquaries, said Sadie Lahood.

The Antique Mall extended its evening hours Friday and Saturday during the Junction festival to take advantage of the bevy of customers.

Contact Tim St. Clair at 932-0300 or tstclair@robinsonnews.com