By The Forty-Niner Shops, Inc. have installed two of the six permanent tent fixtures for the vendors in front of the bookstore at Cal State University Long Beach.
Kierstin Stickney is the marketing and communications director for the 49er Shops.
“This is our idea, from us, for the vendors. The purpose behind the awnings is to create a better aesthetic for the campus and promote a consistent and professional look for our vendor spaces.” Stickney said.
The fixtures are awnings with black canvas walls that can be adjusted to enclose the tent on any of its four sides. The tents will be 20 square feet in size and be both fire and water-resistant.
Stickney said that the project’s cost is approximately $180,000 and is being funded through 49er Shops. Upon its completion, the finished project will consist of six awnings, four in the area in front of the bookstore and two more on the stairs between the University Dining Plaza and the Bookstore.
Larry Erickson from Erickson Enterprises has been doing business on the CSULB campus for 15 years selling hats and sunglasses. He comes for a week every month, and he said he enjoys the tents so far.
“Too soon to tell really,” Erickson said. “I mean they’re nice and airy and big [with] a lot of protection from the sun.”
However, some problems have already surfaced, according to some of the vendors.
“The feedback that I’m getting from some of the other vendors is that they’re too tall,” Erickson said. “We like shade, [but] [the tents are] so high that the sun comes in. We kind of like our own little tents because they’re lower; they give a little more shade.”
Vendors are no longer able hang their merchandise from the canopies.
“I think that’s not going to be really good for most of the vendors because we usually have to hang things, but we have to figure out how we have to do it,” Erickson said.
Some vendors have brought their own poles to hang their wares on.
Marie Moyotl, a vendor with EP Shoes, has been doing business at CSULB for 10 years. She comes for two weeks every semester.
Moyotl’s new canopy has yet to be installed.
“Well, I think it’s better for us because it’s going to cover us more from the sun,” Moyotl said. “Actually, when the winds come, it will [give us more protection] than the previous fixtures”.
Stickney said students wouldn’t need to worry about avoiding the area to make it to classes, as construction is fairly simple and will not cause any obstruction of the walkway between the Nugget and upper campus. She said that the new fixtures are expected to be completed and installed by the end of this month.
