The Lot Postpones Events For Now

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Edgar and Deshea Guzman. The hard-working and creative duo are the reason the old Sportran bus terminal on Crockett Street is now something cool, fun, and funky. Unfortunately, Covid has affected us all and the Holiday at The Lot event planned for this weekend could not promise the level of safety the Guzmans wanted to provide. They posted this message on their site-

[box] Due to the extreme rise locally in COVID-19 cases, we are postponing our event to a better time where it’s safer for everyone. Thank you so much for your interest in this event. All vendor fees will be refunded. We were hoping to create an opportunity to showcase some smaller and local businesses for last minute Christmas shopping as well as get musicians an opportunity to be able to get out and play again. But all we can do is remain compliant, stay as safe as possible and keep moving forward. Be on the lookout for when we are allowed to do something at The Lot next![/box]

In the meantime, the Guzmans are using The Lot’s Facebook page to promote other local events, products and businesses and encourage everyone to support and shop local.

 

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First, let’s get to the really good stuff. The opening weekend of The Lot Downtown SHV was BIG. Vendors loved it, the bands loved it, the people who attended loved it and folks behind it- Edgar and Deshea Guzman- loved that everyone loved it.

The compliments keep rolling in about the inaugural weekend for The Lot Downtown SHV. The reimagined former Sportran bus terminal at 400 Crockett debuted as a new food truck court,  live music and vendor venue on Fri. and Sat. November 20-21. The opening weekend was a learning experience for business owners Edgar and Deshea Guzman, who were exhausted after running on roughly 3 hours’ sleep a night, but thrilled with the response.

“I was really happy with the response,” says Edgar. “We got great feedback from the people who showed up; (musician) Brian Blade told me The Lot was his new favorite venue!” Guzman’s eventual plan is to have plugs for the food trucks so generators aren’t needed, but he understands that right now, the generator noise is off-putting. He plans to make some layout changes to deal with that prior to the next event, and bring in some fancy portalets…all things that are part of the learning experience. He also plans to make space for more vendors. He currently has a wait list for those wanting to be a part of The Lot’s action.

Donna Anderson spent the inaugural weekend vending her Special Reserve Coffee Roasters java. She was thrilled with the steady foot traffic, the laid back atmosphere and the diverse crowd. “It was an eclectic group of people,” she told me. “They all came out with the same purpose; to have a great time. I had a blast talking and serving my coffee to many of my regular coffee family members as well as adding more to our family.”

 

In addition to vendor interest, Guzman says he also has a list of musicians wanting to take part in future events. For attorney/musician Curtis Joseph, the event was a homecoming of sorts. Joseph was  celebrating his birthday on Saturday and chose to spend part of the day with his musical friends and fans; the lure of playing music for a crowd in this year of Covid was simply too compelling to pass up. He, like so many, has looked at the old Sportran property and imagined what could be done there. “I’m so pleased that this project is underway,” he said, “I think The Lot will enhance our quality of life and serve as a tremendous benefit to our downtown.”