EAST TEXAS (KYTX) -- Chris Harris owns Pappy's Fireworks in Tyler. He said this past summer has made times hard for him financially.
"I've owned this company since 1997 and we've been through some droughts," he said. "We've had some real volatile weather situations, and this was one of the worst ones we've experienced."
And he's not the only one. Jeff Danuser owns Crazy Ray's. He said his business also suffered.
"It was bad," he said. "We took a hit. But I suspect this year we're gonna regain."
Regain profits; that's what Harris hopes to do for New Years. But he said it would be wishful thinking to believe he could bounce back entirely from such a slow summer.
"We expect some good sales, but we certainly won't ever be able to make up for a bad fourth on a Christmas season," he said.
Harris said one reason is because many people are simply done spending money once Christmas is over.
"You know, the new year is great, but what you run into this time of year is obviously the colder weather," he said. "People are spent or people are broke from the Christmas season, or Christmas shopping."
But that's not stopping Kenneth Jenkins from fireworks shopping.
"It just makes it more fun," he said. "We try to have one or two families and friends get together. And we just drink hot chocolate and eat popcorn and have a great time and watch the fireworks."
