By Gene Williams

September 28, 2010 -- The second edition of Glow may have lit up the night skies near the beach in Santa Monica, but its impact on nearby businesses was far less bright.

Just how much the event that began at dusk on Saturday and ended at 3 a.m. Sunday morning helped boost business depends on whom you ask. By and large, retail stores and cart operators called Glow a success.

Still, several Downtown shops said it did little to boost their trade, although food and beverage establishments, seemed to benefit most from the event, with restaurants along Ocean Avenue drawing big crowds.

Shiva Imports, a spiritual gift shop on the Promenade that sells such things as cards, videos and art objects from India and the Near East, saw an increase in shoppers but not appreciably more sales.

"It was busy, but it didn’t bring in more business than usual,” said Emily Dion-Staebell, who works at Shiva Imports. “It did bring in a lot of people, though. A lot of people came in to look.”

Dion-Staebell said parking must have been a hassle for many people, noting that it took her a half-hour to get out of the parking structure after closing shop.

Ricardo Cruz, manager of the Broadway Deli, did not work the evening of Glow, but said that his coworkers reported steady trade but nothing exceptional.

“It was good business but not as busy as we expected,” Cruz said. “Last year it was so busy that we ran out of materials and had to close early. This year wasn’t anything like that.”

Restaurants seemed to fare better than retail stores.

The Border Grill reported a big bump in business. On the evening of Glow, the popular eatery on 4th Street near Broadway hosted a special Happy Hour from 10 p.m. until closing at 1 a.m.

“It was fun,” said Amy Quinn, the Border Grill's manager. “Spirits were high, and business was great, pretty much non-stop until we closed.”

In addition, the Border Grill catering truck was selling tacos and snacks at a brisk pace in the parking lot just north of the pier until the festivities ended at 3 a.m., Quinn said

Like many business people, staff at the Border Grill noted that the Glow crowd was an even more eclectic group, including more young people on bikes and skateboards, than usually turn out Downtown on a warm Saturday night.

With Downtown parking normally stretched near its limit, even on an average Saturday night, Quinn speculated that the bike valet must have helped.

“Where did everybody park?” said Quinn, adding that that was the mystery she and her coworkers were asking each other. “How did they accommodate parking for all these people?”

Like many businesses at the recently-reopened Santa Monica Place, Ozumo Restaurant took advantage of the festivities with extended hours.

The Japanese food establishment on the new mall’s Dining Deck usually closes around 10:30 p.m., but on Glow evening it stayed open an extra three hours before closing at 1:30 a.m. As a promotion, the restaurant bar offered “Glow Shots” and special hor dourves throughout the evening.

“It was good," said Hiro Christoph, Ozumo's manager. "We didn’t see too many Glow patrons on this side, but it did attract some of the younger crowd out here.

"It wasn’t a panic or chaos, but it was a nice steady pace of people coming in all night long," he said. "A really nice eclectic group of people.”

Many workers said that Glow was an important event to promote tourism and culture, even though their businesses may not have received any immediate and direct benefit during the festivities.

One such place is Magicopolis, a small theater for magic shows and a shop that sells tricks-of-the-trade for aspiring illusionists on 4th Street.

Johnny G., who works at Magicopolis, said Glow was “a good thing to do,” even though business was slow at the magic shop that evening.

Like many area workers, Johnny G. was enthusiastic about the diverse crowd and festive atmosphere Glow brought to the heart of the city.

“Glow was one unique evening,” Johnny G., said, “a festival of lights in Santa Monica, with music you don’t usually hear, and a party on the beach welcoming people from all over the city.”