NEWS
B Y VA N E S S A S A LV I A
POKÉMON PLAYERS AREN’T
PUMPING UP BUSINESSES
G
rouping couches together, chilling racks of beer,
lighting coals for the grill. These aren’t prepa-
rations for the neighborhood potluck. They’re
what some people have done to get comfortable
for playing hours of Pokémon Go on a down-
town street corner.
While some stores are seeing an increase in foot traf-
fic, that hasn’t translated into a similar increase in profit-
able business.
Much of Eugene’s Pokémon activity is concentrated
around the Bier Stein on 16th and Willamette. That block
has three PokéStops, making it a hotspot for catching
the virtual creatures. PokéStops are real-world locales
where players can collect items for game play.
“We have quite a few people using our bathroom,”
says Kristina Measells, the Bier Stein’s owner. “We like
the fact that people are out walking. Well, not really
walking.”
Measells points out that a lot of Pokémon Go play-
ers, ironically, aren’t really going anywhere. “They put
up camp chairs and put lights up in the trees,” she says.
“They get very comfortable. We clocked someone, and
he was out there for eight hours one day!”
Last Thursday, July 4, at 10:30 at night, about 100
people milled around in small groups on all sides of
16th and Willamette. Player Nathanial Dylan Ray says
he spends two to four hours there in the evenings after
work. He says he likes that corner because of the con-
centrated activity — he’s seen 200 to 400 people there
on weekends.
“The more Pokémon hunters in an area also seems
to bring in more rare Pokémon, so that spot is perfect,”
Ray says. “Three to four days of hunting that area you
NATHANIEL RAY’S IMAGE OF
POKÉSTOPS ON WILLAMETTE
STREET THAT HAVE BEEN
‘ACTIVATED’ WITH LURES
can have a Gyarados.”
Measells says the increase in business isn’t signifi-
cant. Pat McCallum, owner of Mac’s at the Vet’s Club
across the street, says the same. “Other than people
laying out in our lawn, it hasn’t affected us,” he says.
Mac’s offers half-off appetizers for players who catch
something and show them, but he says he doesn’t think
a single person has redeemed the deal.
Parking and litter is the biggest impact the game has
had so far. Measells says police responded on a recent
Saturday night to address the group that was grilling,
and that their neighbors are losing parking spots in al-
ready-small lots to players who park and camp.
Out of respect, the Bier Stein has applied to be re-
moved as a PokéStop, although Measells doesn’t know
how long that process will take. “It’s just gotten a little
crazy,” she says. “If we can get it down to just one Stop
rather than three.” She adds, “We’re also a little scared
that someone is going to get hit by a car.”
Ray, however, says he ordered food from the Bier
Stein recently, and wouldn’t have gone there if it wasn’t
for the Pokémon activity. “Never would have thought
about trying them out if not for the lures and crowds of
Pokémon trainers outside,” he says. He also noticed a
few other restaurants in the immediate area he is looking
forward to dining at soon.
Ray says the Bier Stein removing itself as a Stop is a
“bad move,” and he’s not likely to go back there if that
happens. That would be a “bummer” for the game, he
says.
“I have not found any spots yet that are as good as
16th and Willamette,” Ray adds. “But I have heard of
a bike path near campus being a great spot to hunt.”
HISTORYHAPPENINGS
WILEY GRIFFON
Traveling from Texas to
Eugene in 1888, Wiley Griffon
was the first conductor on the
city’s street rail system and also
held the distinction of being its
sole manager and superinten-
dent for a time. After the rail sys-
tem was sold to a mine owner in
1894, Griffon sought employ-
ment in a variety of occupations:
small business owner, logger,
porter, janitor, waiter and in hop
yards outside Salem. As the first
African-American property owner
in Eugene whose home was in
the vicinity of Third and High, Grif-
fon was quoted as saying he
“would rather live here than any-
where else.” Newspapers from
June 1, 1913, noted that Griffon
was back in town after an opera-
tion to remove tumors on his
back and neck. Failing to gain
back his strength he passed
June 27. In a June 29, 1913,
obituary Griffon was said to be “a
good citizen. It is said that he
never drank nor used profane
language. He always had a smile
for everyone and on the streets
was always whistling.”
Heather Kliever is curator of education,
Lane County Historical Society
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• This week in fast food news: McDonald’s says
that “every chicken item McDonald’s serves is
made from chicken not treated with antibiotics
important to human medicine, including its new
Chicken McNuggets.” Those new nuggets are also
free of additives, the fast food giant says. It tested
the nuggets at Oregon and SW Washington
McDonald’s in February, and “the participating
McDonald’s restaurants saw a 13 percent lift in
McNugget sales, validating just how much the
consumer demands quality ingredients they can
feel good about eating, even when indulging.”
Meanwhile OSPIRG delivered “thousands” of
petitions to KFC (aka Kentucky Fried Chicken) on
Aug. 2, “urging the fried chicken giant to stop
serving meat raised with the routine use of
antibiotics,” saying that “antibiotic resistance is
quickly becoming public enemy number one
among health experts worldwide, especially true
now with the recent emergence of a new “superbug”
resistant to a last resort antibiotic, colistin.” The
presentation featured a farmer, a nurse, a victim of
antibiotic resistance and at least one volunteer in
a chicken suit, OSPIRG tells EW.
eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 11, 2016
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