Since a March opening greeted with fanfare for its on-time and under budget delivery, local business are crediting the new light rail line connecting Downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill with big sales bumps.
"Some businesses on Capitol Hill are reporting 15 to 20 percent more customers since the light rail station opened there," reports Joshua McNichols.
McNichols surveys a number of businesses reporting a bump in sales: from The New York Xchange to Dick's Drive In to Charlie's Bar and Grill. Alexander Kane, manager of Charlie's Bar and Grill, reports a change in demographics in addition to an increasing number of patrons:
Kane says his customers used to be mostly young people. But now families are coming in with strollers. He’s also seen more students and people doing pub crawls using light rail. Collectively, he estimates these customers have expanded his busy hours and increased his sales by 15 percent.
FULL STORY: Is Capitol Hill Business Booming Because of Light Rail?
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