Some downtown Niles business owners are reporting record sales and foot traffic during the Hunter Ice Festival over the weekend.

Veni’s Sweet Shop, located on the corner of Third and Main streets, enjoyed a 43-percent jump in sales over last year’s festival on Saturday and a 34-percent increase on Friday. Business was comparable Sunday.

“We were very busy,” said Veni’s manager Linda Skwarkan, adding that warmer temperatures might have been the reason for the increased business.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t cold enough for the ice (sculptures), but it was very pleasant to walk around.”

Gail Hanchar, owner of new Niles bakery Crumb Crossing, said she was blown away by how many people were downtown over the weekend. This was her first Hunter Ice Festival as a business owner.

Hanchar reported doing three times the business she would do on a normal weekend.

“It was exciting and mind-blowing. I actually underestimated how many people we’d get in our shop,” said Hanchar, whose business is located on the corner of Fourth and Main streets. “We had more than 300 people come in the door Sunday.”

Lisa Croteau, of Niles Main Street, said she is hearing similar things from other downtown businesses.

“It seems that most had at least a 50-percent increase in people/business over last year and some much more than that,” she said.

While the warmer-than-average weather was good for business, it wasn’t good for the festival’s signature ice sculptures.

Croteau said sculptors were unable to finish some pieces, forcing organizers to not declare a People’s Choice winner for best sculpture.

“If I had to guess the most popular, I’d say it was Elsa (from the movie “Frozen”) hands down,” she said. “Despite the weather, it was a great weekend. People seemed to enjoy it all. Even the melty sculptures.”

Croteau said the festival sold out of all 150 gallons of Hunter Ice Cream by noon Sunday — a new record.

The festival set a record for number of people participating in the Chili Crawl/Cook-Off Contest at 14.

“The most we ever had before was 12,” she said. “I think it’s growing by word of mouth from both cooks and tasters. It’s fun.”

Croteau estimates more than 15,000 people visited downtown Niles over the weekend.