A downtown hospitality owner says Halloween weekend brought out the biggest crowds he’s seen in more than two decades. Andrew Corbett, co-owner of WKND Hospitality Group, which operates Disco Inferno, Wild Child, and The G.O.A.T. Tap & Eatery, says Ouellette Avenue was packed Saturday night as thousands of people headed downtown for Halloween festivities. Corbett told AM800’s The Kyle Horner Show that a combination of Halloween falling on a Saturday, warmer weather and the end of daylight saving time created the perfect conditions for a record night. “I’ve been in the scene for 21 years, been an owner operator with my partners down here for 16, and I’ve never seen Ouellette Avenue like this. It was something to see. Walking down the street you couldn’t walk past people on the sidewalk without, you know, cutting corners and you’re brushing into people. There was so much foot traffic,” Corbett said. “It just felt like people were out ready to have a good time.” Corbett says the strong weekend was not an isolated event. He believes downtown has been steadily improving, with more Windsorites choosing to dine out, attend events and enjoy the nightlife scene. Corbett adds another encouraging trend is the return of cross-border visitors. “You’re seeing Americans come back. We have a lot of data on our customer base and through ticket sales and that kind of stuff. Year over year over the last three years, we’re continuing to see more and more Americans come over,” Corbett said. Corbett says attracting customers increasingly comes down to offering something unique. “The big thing is creating a memorable events and creating experiences for customers. The days of people just going to a jam packed nightclub with lots of fog and this crazy dance floor. There’s still a very small market for that. But for hospitality owners, what they should be looking at right now is creating experiences for the customers,” Corbett said. Corbett says he was recently named to the 2027 advisory board for the Bar and Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas, where he’ll help provide insight into hospitality and nightlife trends across North America.
