Perhaps unaware of the Sundance Film Festival's new focus on Salt Lake City, or unwilling to brave the cold, the droves of people expected to materialize along 300 South between 300 West and 300 East largely failed to materialize, business owners along the corridor said.

"It couldn't die, because it never came alive," said Royal Tyler, owner of the Judge Cafe, located between State and Main. "It was a wasteland."

Tyler said representatives of the festival first approached him in December, describing streets filled with film lovers along the path between the Broadway Centre Cinemas and the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. Both spots screened Sundance films in Salt Lake City, along with the Tower Theatre in the Ninth and Ninth neighborhood. He kept the Judge open extra hours nightly hoping to attract some of the crowd that never came.

It was much the same story at the Beehive Tea Room, down the block from the Judge Cafe and just a hop and a skip from the Rose Wagner. While nearby restaurants such as Squatter's and Metropolitan did their usual bang-up weekend business during the festival, Beehive owner Lisa Brady had employees volunteering to work extra hours "for nothing."

Brady didn't think there was enough advertising for the "festival district," but thinks the concept is, generally speaking, a good idea. She'd like to see "maybe some kind of event on the street" to help draw locals downtown during Sundance.

"There should have been more effort" in creating a festival vibe, Brady said.

The numbers were certainly strong for the Sundance screenings. Jill Miller, managing director of the Sundance Institute, said festival organizers were pleased with attendance in Salt Lake City, and the filmmakers they spoke to were happy to get their movies in front of "real" audiences, not just Park City's industry-heavy crowds.

"For us and our expectations the first year, it was really about bringing a significant number of Sundance Film Festival lovers to this area to go to screenings, and that happened," Miller said. "And I know a lot of the filmmakers . . . commented on what amazing audiences they had and how great the experience was."

It's too early to tell what steps might be taken to change the "festival district" for the 2007 festival, Miller said, but Sundance folks will meet with "local merchants in the Downtown Alliance and the local theaters to get a feel for how they feel about things."

United Concerts rushed to get its new concert venue, The Depot in The Gateway, open in time to host shows during the festival. And while it was a bumpy process booking acts and getting the club ready for action, according to United Concerts Vice President Dave McKay, he's confident the idea of a Salt Lake festival district can work, for both the city and The Depot.

"After 20 years or so of Sundance being in Park City, everyone's image is that Sundance is Park City," McKay said. "Coordinating with the Downtown Alliance and Sundance festival people, it will take some time, but people will eventually realize there are a lot of activities going on in Salt Lake."

Panache's Shauna Engen is one "festival district" business owner who was thrilled with this year's focus on Salt Lake City. Of course, her restaurant acted as an official "festival cafe," which drove traffic to Panache. Engen figures the restaurant made about $22,000 more in January than in December, a jump she attributes to Sundance patrons. Engen has grand plans of wining and dining celebrities and movie producers in her restaurant next year, hoping the star factor helps draw more locals to 300 South because celebrities are "what people want to see downtown."

Tyler at the Judge Cafe would just like to see some semblance of a "festival" when he looks out his restaurant's window next year.

"I just think they need to have more events," Tyler said. "Have a big street-party, a ribbon-cutting in Salt Lake City. Something."