STURGIS, South Dakota — The allure of being awash in tips from hard-partying bikers draws waitstaff from around the country to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally every summer, and this year is no different.
But according to temporary workers who make the trip, it takes a little more than 10 straight days of great pay to get them to travel all the way to the Black Hills of South Dakota, a location only accessible by road trip or pricey plane tickets, as no major airport is nearby.
Just coming, they pointed out, is a big financial commitment.
The extra impetus they need to work the rally can be uniquely personal for each contract worker. Some are avid bikers themselves while others are simply seeking a thrill.
It’s unclear exactly how many temporary workers come to Sturgis, but considering the town swells from about 7,200 to about 500,000 for the annual motorcycle rally, the need for additional service workers is massive.
The Sturgis Department of Revenue reports that it licensed more than 900 temporary vendors in 2022 and again in 2023. Those vendors also require employees on top of established businesses, which hire extra staff every summer.
‘I’m Not Going To Miss It Again’
This weekend’s rally, the 84th overall, is Cassey Weinhold’s fourth and the second year she has worked at One-Eyed Jack’s Saloon, an indoor-outdoor bar right on Sturgis’ main drag.
Wearing black leather bustier lined by steel studs, fishnet leggings and tight silver shorts, Weinhold worked the early day shift on the first day of Sturgis, serving new arrivals beers or her specialty shot of Jameson whisky, peach schnapps and splashs of sour mix and Sprite known as “Green Tea.”
She first came to Sturgis in 2021 just to see Kid Rock perform, but once she saw how busy the bars were, she decided to seek out seasonal work in subsequent years. It just looked like too much fun.
“I literally said I’m not going to miss it again,” she said.
Weinhold, 28, estimated that she makes as much as a fourth of her annual income during the 10-day rally, and feels drawn to the gathering because she also rides motorcycles. She sold her Honda Rebel in July and is saving up to buy a Harley-Davidson Dyna Gilde.
Slinging Drinks
Manning another outdoor bar at One-Eyed Jack’s was Anna Gott, 31, hailing from Tennessee. This is her first time working the rally, and she said she came for the adrenaline, though she acknowledges the pay she takes home definitely helps.
“This is my first one, I’m a baby,” she said. “But I’m having a great time.”
Gott works in restaurant management, overseeing a local farm-to-table establishment back home. But in her prior life, she worked as a bartender for Coyote Ugly, the bar chain best known for employing a rowdy waitstaff in skimpy clothing. The bar brand was made famous in the 2000 comedy-drama by the same name.
Wearing a red sports bra with horned skulls on it, swimsuit bottom, hoop earrings, sunglasses perched over her head and a nose ring, Gott said she “missed this” — slinging drinks and being the center of attention — just like she had been working at Coyote Ugly bars in New York and Austin, Texas.
“It’s been a bucket-list event to work,” she said. “It never lined up with the rest of my life until this year.”
She wanted to check it off so bad she flew out to Sturgis by herself. She is staying at housing the saloon has arranged for extra workers it has hired to work the rally.
“It’s like summer camp,” she said. “With bunk beds.”
Bikers Make The Rally
What makes serving Sturgis so exciting, she said, is the clientele.
“Bikers in general – that’s a big broad statement – they like to have a good time, and generally speaking they’re very respectful,” Gott said.
Respectful, she said, but with a tinge of “debauchery.”
A block down, Keri Jones was juggling four tables at the Oasis Bar and Fireside Lounge. Jones hails from Carrabelle, a small city in the Florida panhandle.
She hopes to make at least $7,000 over the 10-day festival. As of Saturday, she had already made more than $1,000. Enough, she said, to cover rent for a month.
“It definitely helps me economically,” said Jones, 48.
But money isn’t the only reason she is making her second straight visit to the Badlands to work the rally. It took something greater to get her to fork over $1,500 for two plane tickets, one for her and one for her 17-year-old daughter, to fly to Sturgis.
Her son lives in the area and this gives Jones a way to see her two grandchildren, 1-year-old Meadow and 6-year-old Aspen. She carries a photo of them wherever she goes as it serves as her phone screensaver.
The money Jones earns back waitressing in Sturgis essentially makes the expensive journey free and realistic on her limited income. It’s one of the rare times she can see her family united, a wish any mom would want.
“I work day shifts so we can eat dinner together,” she said.
Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.
