Lake George businesses see uptick from eclipse

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Many people spent Monday in Lake George, not only to see the near total eclipse coverage, but to take in some of the shops and restaurants the village had to offer.

From souvenir shops like Gifts and Glamour: “It's more of a summer tourist area, so therefore, it only being April there's a lot more people than what they normally would be” said Kristin Felton whose parents own the shop.

To restaurants like 47-year-old Duffy’s Tavern: “It’s wonderful" said Manager Linda Duffy. "Our business was like a winter carnival day, which you know helps us get over to the summertime. This is just an added bonus" Duffy added.

Businesses in Lake George saw a spike in foot traffic. The Warren County community was unusually busy for a Monday in April, that's all thanks to the solar eclipse which gave the area 97-98% coverage.

David DeCastro who worked as a television news reporter for 60 years in Pennsylvania says he and his crew who came here via tour bus will be contributing to the local economy.“Right now as we speak, they are grabbing something to eat. After we see the eclipse, we'll be back up hitting the shops, hitting the restaurants, we were in the hotel last night. So there's plenty of extra business coming into this area.”

Even though Lake George wasn't in the path of totality for Monday's solar eclipse, the veteran newsman explained why his group chose this area to watch the event.

“ It's just such a pleasant area to be if you even have bad weather here you can still enjoy yourself because of the surroundings so this Lake George area was the perfect spot for most of us to come from Pennsylvania and enjoy the day” DeCastro continued.