DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — At Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Harley-Davidson, employees are looking forward to Biketoberfest.

“You know this town is driven on tourism, we look forward to it every year,” said Darrin Dawson, who has worked for the company for several years. 

Unlike years past, he realizes because of the coronavirus, things will likely need to change. It could be a big blow, after already seeing a drop in sales since March.  

“They closed the second weekend down during Bike Week and we saw a decrease then," said Dawson. "We were closed for a month in April and since we reopened we have seen quite a few people from out of state come into town, but numbers are down for sure.”

The Daytona Beach City commission is discussing whether they will issue special use permits this year, which allows for things like shutting down Main Street strictly to bikers. As things stand now, the mayor doesn’t support it as it could encourage crowds. 

“I am not encouraging anyone not to come, but you know we are still in the throes of a pandemic, and I do expect people to govern themselves accordingly,” said Mayor Derrick Henry.

The yearly event draws thousands of bikers from all over, bringing the community upwards of $16 million, according to the visitors bureau. 

“I want to have an open, frank discussion with my colleagues about how, you know, we can be supportive of business without putting public health at risk,” said Henry. 

While the lack of special use permits couldn’t prevent bikers from coming into town and visiting private businesses, some are concerned that it could hurt their bottom line even further — on one of the biggest bike weekends of the year. 

"It does make us worry about less people coming to see us, because obviously we rely on people buying merchandise.” said Dawson. “I definitely think it will affect our business for sure.”

The mayor said the permits are not off the table. He hopes if the number of positive coronavirus cases drops drastically, they can revisit the topic in early September. ​