DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — If you live in Daytona Beach, the friendly sound of motorcycles will ring through the city once again as bikers are descending on Daytona Beach as the city’s 80th Bike Week kicks off Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • Bike Week begins Friday and runs to March 14

  • Business thrilled about boost to their bottom lines

  • Some bars have hired extra staff to enforce limited capacity

  • Police have put the onus on businesses but will be watching

At Froggy’s Saloon, many are bellying up to the bar, which is all owner Bobby Honeycutt had hoped for ahead of Bike Week.

“I am ecstatic about it,” Honeycutt said. 

But this year, things are a little different, with hand sanitizer and safety notices placed around the bar. They serve as a reminder that there is still an ongoing global COVID pandemic. 

One of the biggest changes is that Honeycutt will only be allowed 60% capacity inside his bar, a stipulation from the city for any business that applied for a special-use permit.

That permit allows him to expand his outdoor space and have vendors.

“We’ve got 18 bars outside,” Honeycutt said. “There is a lot of room for them to go instead of being in here.” 

The reduced capacity could be a challenge, as the Daytona Beach Police Department is gearing up for crowds.

“I think it is going to look like the pandemic never surfaced, I think it is going to be huge," Chief Jakari Young said. "... Those that are coming, they are looking to party, and they are looking to make up for lost time.”

​To handle this, the department will only allow motorcycles on Main Street for the next 10 days and will not allow any of them to park on the sidewalk, hoping that will encourage social distancing.

While police plan to use drones to monitor crowds, the chief explained they don’t plan on being the ones to enforce social distancing.

“We are primarily going to put the onus on the bar owners, management, and bar staff to obey by the 60% occupancy, and if they need us to step in and kinda help, maybe clear them out a little bit so they can regain that 60%, we could be willing to do so," Young said. "But it is not our plan to be the first line of defense. That is not our goal.”  

Should they not follow the rules, business owners could face a fine.

Honeycutt said he felt prepared to handle the crowds and has hired someone just to monitor the crowd size.

“I have 32 cameras so I can watch the volume of people inside this bar, and I can get a feel whether we are getting too much,” Honeycutt said. “But this person’s only job is to make sure we don’t exceed 102 people so that we don’t get in any trouble with the commissioners.” 

Despite having to keep crowds down, Honeycutt shared that he is confident the event will still be a much-needed boost to their bottom line.

“I hope it is one of the best events we have as long as we keep it safe,” Honeycutt said. 

Bike week starts Friday and runs until March 14.