Thousands of Furthur Fans to Flood Port Chester

Thousands of Further fans will descend on Port Chester in coming days, some to see a concert or two, others who will stick around for the full run. With the nine nearly consecutive nights of shows at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester is sure to see a significant uptick in business between April 15, when the run kicks off, and April 25, when it closes.

The Cap's general manager Tom Bailey says that they are prepared to handle the sold out crowds all nine nights.

“We're looking forward to a great run of sold-out shows, and a big boost to Port Chester restaurants and businesses in general,” Bailey said.

The Cap will be opening its new bar, The Lobby Bar, each day of the run at 4 p.m. They have also hired off-duty police officers to help out with security and alerted village officials and police to expect larger crowds over the nine days.

Surrounding restaurants are also planning ahead. The Copacabana is hosting its own nine night “after-party” concert series to coincide with the Furthur shows. Former Furthur percussionist and Ratdog and Primus drummer Jay Lane curated the concert series. Local Rye musicians from the Stella Blues Band organized the event.

So fans who did not buy tickets in time, or who couldn’t afford the $70-$200 tickets, can catch some famous musicians playing similar music a few blocks down at Copa. Read more about the concert series here.

“I have spoken to many Port Chester business owners about the anticipated upswing in business, and most were already well aware,” Bailey said.

Coals pizza is preparing too. They are normally closed Mondays but are opening on today, April 15 at 5 p.m. in anticipation of hungry and thirsty Further fans looking for a slice before heading to the opening show. Draft beers are $1 off for ticket holders, as usual.

While fans are coming in to town from as far away as California for the run, the closest hotel to the theater, the still has its regular weekend vacancies, according to a manager there.

But not everyone is thrilled about large crowds. One Port Chester Patch user said he thinks the village is already crowded enough and does not The Cap fans take up more parking spots and filling the streets. He wrote: 

"I say shut it down or tax the people who come to our village. this village is becoming a carnival!!"

Do you think the crowds are too much for Port Chester? Is your business preparing for Furthur? Tell us about it in the comments. 

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