Delaware Valley residents stock up on fireworks before 4th of July
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For some, skipping the big fireworks and taking it easy at home and doing their own thing is the way to go.
From sparklers to Roman candles and everything in between, residents are stocking up the day before the Fourth of July at All American Fireworks in Bensalem.
Customers are looking to ring in the nation's 247th birthday with a bang.
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Tony Odessa has been operating this family-run store off of Lincoln Highway for the last five years. He says business has been booming since Memorial Day weekend.
"As it gets closer to the fourth, we get busier and busier," Odessa said.
Their massive inventory of firecrackers, rockets, and sparklers is imported from around the world and attracts people from across the tri-state region like Mark Crowder of Wrightstown.
"We're going to do an hour show in our front yard," Crowder said.
Or even others come as far as upstate New York.
"A lot of people look for these 500-gram cake boxes. You light them one time and they do a whole show," Rabelow said.
In preparation for the Fourth of July, All American ordered about 4,000 boxes of fireworks. By Tuesday, they're planning on their warehouse to be empty.
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According to U.S. Census Data, Pennsylvania imported about $30 million in fireworks last year, which is way up from $8.6 million in 2017.
However last year, the industry was hit with inflation that sent prices skyrocketing.
Odessa says this year customers can get even more bang for their buck.
"The shipping last year was through the roof," Odessa said. "We still had inventory left over from last year so our prices are starting to drop now."
