The SLO CAL Open is coming to Pismo Beach on Monday, but preparations have already started.
Around the Pismo Pier, businesses, competitors, and other surfers are getting ready for one of the area's largest competitions of the year, the SLO CAL Open.
Local surfer Lindsay Clark says she saw many athletes in the waters over the weekend, even before the event kicked off.
“There's plenty of waves for everybody, and I'm glad that it's bringing revenue," Clark said. "As a business person, I feel good about that.”
Many business owners say they’re excited for the boost in foot traffic that comes with the week-long competition.
For the last two weeks, Tazia Ulrich, a Chowa Bowl employee, said it's been a little slow. The restaurant has only been around for a few months, so they're counting on the sunshine and the extra customers.
“I know the first couple weeks of the new year we had rain, and it kind of made it a little bit slower than we'd like," Ulrich said. "But now we have beautiful weather. We have the three-day weekend, we have the surf competition coming in. We love it.”
Ulrich added that any customers who visit for competitions and events during the off-season are helpful.
“We're kind of like getting our footing here in Pismo," Ulrich said. "Anything that brings people into town is an awesome experience.”
Meanwhile, the Cool Cat Cafe has been in its Pismo Beach location for over a decade. One server, Kristopher Elizondo, said that the weather didn't cooperate during the Surfing for Hope competition back in November. Now, they're counting on clearer skies and hoping for even more business this time around.
“It was rained out, but there's still a bunch of people that showed up," Elizondo said. "This week [is] going to be even better for sure.”
The competition starts on Monday, January 19, and continues through Sunday, January 25. Visit SLO CAL is the title sponsor of the event.
