Bayside businesses became reacquainted with the local community on Sunday, October 9, during the first annual Bayside Village Retail Expo.
“Nothing’s happened here in so long. Nobody actually expected this to happen,” said Gregg Sullivan, executive director of the Bayside Village Business Improvement District. “This is the start of something really good that’s going to just get bigger and better.”
The main goal of the expo was to reawaken the wide diversity of Bayside businesses and remake the area into a central destination again, Sullivan said. Although no items were for sale, businesses were able to showcase and promote their goods from 12 to 8 p.m.
“For the first time in 17 years, we have a music festival going on like this. Today is all about Bayside’s commerce. These are the actual people who make up Bayside,” Sullivan said.
Bayside resident Ann Vivona said she was on her way to brunch when she heard music and saw the fair.
“This is the place to be,” she said. “I think it’s about time there was a [retail] street fair because everybody knows about the night life, but what about everything else?”
