Fireworks stores see big business ahead of July Fourth weekend

Fourth of July is like Christmas to William Olbeter.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I fell in love with fireworks, and I’ve always wanted to do my own shows,” said Olbeter, of New Kensington.

The 54-year-old puts on a fireworks show annually for his family and neighbors. Each year, he and his neighbors participate in a friendly competition at their cabins outside of Oil City.

“Every year, one starts upriver and then the next cabin goes and next cabin, next cabin, all the way down the river,” he said. “We try to show each other off. There are no trophies or anything like that. We just get the bragging rights.”

Olbeter’s setup includes mortars, 200-gram cakes leading to 500-gram cakes, and mortar rockets. He said he spends anywhere from $700 to $1,000 each year for the show.

This year was no different, he said.

Terence Turk, manager of the Phantom Fireworks store in Hempfield, said there haven’t been any drastic price increases this season.

“Prices haven’t really changed much. You can build a great show with only $100,” he said.

Turk, likewise, highlighted the store’s coupons and deals. He said there has been a company shift this year to offer more products for children, such as light sabers and water guns, to encourage them to keep a greater distance from the dangerous stuff.

“We’re really excited for this season. We’re really trying to promote safety,” he said.

Scott Close of Somerset said prices this year seem to be similar to what he’s used to. He drives 45 minutes from his home to the Hempfield Phantom Fireworks annually to stock up for his family’s July Fourth party.

“We want to get as much bang (as we can) for our buck,” he said.

Limited tariff impact

Despite looming worries about how tariffs will affect firework prices this year, Donovan Russell, general manager of Phantom Fireworks in New Kensington, said the company hasn’t had to deal with them yet.

“I know a lot of tariff talk has been going around,” he said. “Obviously, the vast majority of (Phantom’s) inventory, we do get from China. … We don’t have too many price changes this year. We have plenty of inventory that we’ve already brought over to the States that we have been distributing among all of our stores.”

He said the week of July Fourth is the busiest time for the company.

“We do roughly about 80% to 90% of our business this time of year,” Russell said.

Despite economic worries people may have, Russell said the store has seen an influx of business compared with last year. It’s the first year the store has operated as a “full-fledged” store, he said. Last year, the store opened with the “bare minimum” it needed to sell fireworks. After being in business year-round since then, he and his staff are seeing a heavy flow of customers.

Russell said Phantom’s legal team has been working with local legislators.

“Our team is very optimistic that the tariff talks that are going around right now won’t be anything long-lasting,” he said. “We do have plans that, if it does end up being too pricey to keep the mass amount of inventory coming from China, there are other countries that do provide fireworks as well that we are looking into possibly manufacturing from.”

Olbeter said that, compared with prices before covid, the price of fireworks have decreased and stayed that way, for the most part. He said if people are worried about prices, they should look for bargains via coupons or store sales.

“The name of the game when it comes to this place is coupons, coupons, coupons,” Russell said.

Customer traffic doubles

This year marks the second that the Wisneski family has been selling fireworks at Five Star Fireworks.

Jessica Wisneski, owner of the East Huntingdon store, met her husband in Ohio, where he traveled to obtain a fireworks exhibitor license.

They reunited years later, and, in 2023, they turned the former Swing & Hit Golf complex off Route 119 into a fireworks store. Though it’s only their second year, the Wisneskis have presented shows since 2020, including a drive-in show in the midst of the pandemic at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds.

Wisneski said she has seen twice as many customers at the store this year.

While you can’t find as many deals or coupons at Five Star, prices are in line with the market standard, according to Wisneski.

“My pricing is fair all year long,” she said.

Some prices have decreased since last year, as Five Star adjusted to consumer feedback. Customers also can utilize a new point-based loyalty system to get discounts.

Wisneski expects her busiest days of business to be Thursday and Friday.

“Fireworks people are procrastinators,” she said, which is why she is staying open until 9 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

Just last weekend, Five Star Fireworks put on a show at Whiskey Throttle Fair at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds. They are prepping for a show Saturday in Scottdale and July 12 for the 250th anniversary of Derry Borough.

Nathan Ferraro and Haley Daugherty are TribLive staff writers. They can be reached at nferraro@triblive.com and hdaugherty@triblive.com.