Businesses Prepare for 6-Man Madness

Businesses are bracing themselves for better or worse for the influx of beachgoers set to invade Manhattan Beach this weekend for the annual International Surf Festival and one of its more known events, the Charlie Saikley 6-Man Volleyball Tournament.

The 6-Man, whose attendance skyrocketed to an estimated 60,000 at its 2009 peak, has gained notoriety for its excessive alcohol consumption, predominantly on the beach until the Manhattan Beach City Council authorized a crackdown for the 2010 tournament.

That crackdown, which is still in place, includes the use of the entire Manhattan Beach police force and hired security along with stricter rules for what is allowed inside a now fenced-in tournament area on the beach with distinct entry and exit points.

As a result of the crackdown [team fees were raised to offset the extra costs of using a full police force and hired security], the 2010 6-Man had fewer teams, fewer spectators [by about 10,000], and fewer complaints from residents. Arrests were up, at 38 compared to six to 10 in prior years when a much smaller police force was on duty.

Even with such a crackdown, thousands of visitors are expected to prowl the businesses that run up and down Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue for the tournament this weekend.

“We will probably have 40 percent more business, on our already busiest day of the week [Saturday]," said Jeff Byron, general manager of The Kettle restaurant, a 24-hour Manhattan Beach mainstay. "It’s a record day for us every year. We’re busy with full staff from beginning to end, the entire day, and it’s the only day of the year that we ever do that. This is beyond busy for us.”

Managers and employees at various other restaurants and sports bars echoed the same positive sentiment; the extra business is a plus for their types of establishment.

“I’m sure for some businesses it just doesn’t work well for them, like boutiques and retail businesses,” said Eryn Richmond, manager at Hennessey’s Tavern. “6-Man is a party, and businesses that kind of work in conjunction with the party do well and the other ones just kind of close shop.”

That’s exactly what Allison Thompson, owner of Allison by the Beach, a new clothing store, was thinking, although she isn’t planning on closing shop.

“We weren’t around for last year’s tournament,” Thompson said, “but yes, it’s definitely not good for business. If anything, my regular customers will stay away this weekend.”

Even though no alcohol on the beach will be strictly enforced, owners are still prepared for the onslaught of customers looking for food or drink.

“It doesn’t end up being a problem," said Justin Rue, a bouncer at Sharks Cove, a restaurant and sports bar. "We prepare for it, that’s just part of the 6-Man tournament.

“It should be a little bit safer this year because there’s no drinking on the beach, so everyone will be here, or in a bar.”

According to then Police Chief Rod Uyeda, the 6-Man party simply moved off the beach to the nearby walkstreets, residences and restaurants and bars.

While restaurants and sports bars are expected to benefit from the crowds of people this weekend, Matthew Kim, owner of Manhattan Meats and Market, says his business, which sells the closed containers of alcohol you find at a market, may take a hit compared to previous years due to the crackdown on public alcohol consumption.

“I’m sure business is going to be a lot less,” Kim said. “Even a few years back, they were saying that they would cut down or restrict public alcohol consumption, but somehow visitors found a way to drink on the beach.”

As a potential supplier of liquor to beachgoers, Kim said his market has been scrutinized in past years.

“Sometimes they will even have police cars outside of our doors, to see if people walk out with open containers of beer and stuff," he said. "People in the past also opened their containers and started drinking while waiting in line to buy the alcohol, and we got in trouble for that.”

The extra business for some establishments means taking the necessary steps to accommodate all customers.

“The problem is you have to have infinitely more supply of food, and infinitely more supply of beer, champagne and wine," said Byron. "All of the things we normally do, we do times two in one day. We have to shift who we’re dealing with from our normal Saturday crowd to what we consider our Saturday late-night crowd.”

Likewise, Rue told Manhattan Beach Patch some of the steps Sharks Cove is taking for the weekend.

“We will have four or five door people and extra staff, but other than that, it’s not like it’s an Armageddon," he said. "We’re not having crazy, drunk bar fights. The worst you have to worry about is someone peeing in the dumpster out back.”