By DJ King/Cronkite News
TEMPE – Every year around the Fourth of July, pop-up fireworks stands begin to dot parking lots. Their vibrant signs and multiple options are a staple of the patriotic celebrations in metro Phoenix. However, the range of people selling in them, from individual vendors to massive fundraisers, can be surprising.
Gibrael Atiyeh runs a SanTan Fireworks stand on Rural and Guadalupe roads in Tempe, in the parking lot of a Burger King. He started running the stand four years ago, when his friend asked him if he wanted the job.
“I found out his father was the main owner of it and was giving me the opportunity,” he said.
Atiyeh, 29, is an immigrant who was born in Jordan and grew up in Dubai. Now in Arizona, he owns a car dealership in addition to the fireworks stand. The grueling process of running the stand has helped him learn what is necessary to run his own business, he said.
“Every item, every piece comes out on the table, and then I set up pricing and everything,” Aityeh said. “And then when it comes to the end of the night, we literally pack up everything in the boxes back in the container. And it’s like this for two weeks.”
The take-home pay is nothing to slouch at, either. Atiyeh said he has taken home as much as $12,000 in profit from a single Fourth of July sales period, which helps him continue to pursue other business endeavors. He also thinks the standalone locations have a sales advantage over the ones in grocery stores because they have bigger options available.
“They make it sound like it’s a lot, but it’s not as big as what we have,” he said.
Daniel Gonzalez, a salesman at a Bellino Fireworks stand on Rural Road and Southern Avenue, is part of a group giving the profits to a men’s home run by Christian Redemption Center Church.
“We’re part of a men’s home, people that are trying to restore their lives. So this is a fundraiser for us,” Gonzalez said. “We’re doing it for a good cause.”
The profits from the stand go back to the charity to help with basic amenities, Gonzalez said. But the money is not the only reason the church puts on the stand.
“It kind of teaches them how to be a hard-working man; it teaches them trades,” he said. “The beneficial factor out of it is to gain knowledge and learn something from it to, you know, help you grow.”
Gonzalez has worked the stand for three years, and he has seen it benefit him personally in his skillset.
“I do a lot of different work, but learning sales, being a sales representative, is cool,” he said. “Maybe one day they’ll want me to run my own stand.”
The looseness of how the stands function allows a variety of people from all walks of life to run them. Gonzalez said that he knew of a football team running a Bellino stand in Peoria. Atiyeh said once his wife returns from seeing family in Colombia, he will give the stand he runs to her. It represents a vast number of opportunities for those involved.
“It’s just a blessing overall to be able to be here and to experience it,” Gonzalez said.
Fireworks in Arizona are heavily regulated because of the state’s chronic fire danger. For the Fourth of July, people are only allowed to set off fireworks between June 24 and July 6. Both Gonzalez and Atiyeh said their stands stay clear of illegal mortar-style fireworks, and stressed that when people set them off, safety is of the utmost importance.
“Please be safe,” Atiyeh said. “Please have a hose and a bucket of water, and do not jump over them.”
Both men said they also felt honored to contribute to one of the cultural touchstones of celebrating Independence Day in America during the country’s 250th anniversary.
“I’m helping families, and it’s Fourth of July, so it’s nice,” Gonzalez said.
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