After a quiet July 4 last year, Palmer Lake’s Festival on the Fourth returned in 2025, bringing back the crowds and the revenue local restaurants had missed the year prior.

With festival traffic once again flowing through the small mountain town, business owners said the renewed celebration offered a much-needed economic and emotional lift.

The 2024 event was canceled due to organizational challenges; however, with new leadership and the support of multiple community groups, Palmer Lake was able to restore the long-standing tradition this year.

For some restaurants in the town, this was the first time they had the chance to take part in the holiday festivities. Newer establishments like Sundance Pit BBQ and Lake & Lantern embraced the opportunity to serve the festival crowd, while longtime favorites welcomed the return of a holiday weekend which often ranks among their busiest of the year.

For J.T. and Maria Cline, co-owners of Sundance Pit BBQ, this year’s Fourth of July festival wasn’t just a community celebration, it was a milestone for their business which opened in 2023. With the cancellation of Festival on the Fourth in 2024, this year’s event was the first time Sundance Pitt BBQ could take advantage.

Rather than rely on its brick-and-mortar presence on Hwy 105 to receive the influx of potential customers, the Clines and company established a temporary location in the festival grounds just behind their large smoker. To prepare for the expected crowds, the Clines kept their festival menu simple, offering chopped brisket sandwiches with select sides.

The couple opted to close their dining room and focus solely on festival service and pre-orders, which they said paid off. While the festival isn’t critical to the restaurant’s long-term survival, they say events like this provide a welcomed revenue boost.

“It was definitely a good crowd,” J.T. said. “It definitely helps. It’s a big bonus. We had more of a pop this weekend than we’ve seen at some other events.”

Looking ahead, the Clines are considering minor tweaks for the festival in future years, possibly offering more products and even exploring alcohol sales, but they’re largely happy with how things went, they said.

Jeff Hulsmann, owner of O’Malley’s Steak Pub, said the restaurant across the street from festival parking, said his establishment saw approximately a 10-percent increase in sales that day, which wasn’t a surprise to him regardless of the event.

“O’Malley’s is always going to be busy on a holiday weekend,” Hulsmann said. “Events like this give us an opportunity to highlight all the different businesses in Palmer Lake. Bringing more people to town is always beneficial.”

Hulsmann voiced his disagreement with the cancellation of the Festival on the Fourth last year and was personally involved in making sure the event happened in 2025, he said.

Another restaurant opened on July 4 looking to benefit from Festival on the Fourth traffic, and one of the newest culinary spots in Palmer Lake, is Lake & Lantern owned by Raquel and Chris Garcia. Lake & Lantern took a more modest approach to promotions during its first Festival on the Fourth.

While the turnout wasn’t quite what the Hwy 105-located restaurant had hoped for, the experience still offered value as the Garcia’s and company set up a warming box outside the cafe to sell burritos and cold drinks to pedestrian traffic.

“We didn’t get as much traffic as we were expecting necessarily,” Lake & Lantern cook Lars Quhwede said. “Other than that, I think it went pretty well for us.”

Lake & Lantern opened in late February, making this its first season participating in community events. Quhwede said they’re still learning how to navigate festival logistics and are considering setting up a presence closer to the central gathering area next year’s Festival on the Fourth.

“Maybe next year we might get a spot down there where everybody’s congregating instead of just staying up here,” he said.

The café has already experimented with unique promotions. Raquel and Chris Garcia are deeply involved in the community and are always looking for new ways to engage, Quhwede said.

Looking ahead, restaurants in Palmer Lake, especially those with a presence along Hwy 105, rely on local events for a boost in profile. However, the return of Festival on the Fourth revealed to be one of the better, locally minded events. One which allows and invites local culinary stops to participate and engage with patrons, rather than solely book a line of food trucks, Maria Cline said.