There are a lot of unknowns about this weekend’s Goonies 25th Anniversary Celebration. 

Where will the movie stars be staying?

Will there be any more last-minute additions to the celebrity roster?

One thing’s for sure, however: Goonies fans are headed to Astoria in droves. 

While no one knows yet just how many people are coming, the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce and Astoria businesses are ready for them. 

Local businesses are using the opportunity to cater to the unique needs of the masses in Astoria this weekend – creating an economy with a four-day shelf life. 

At the center is the Chamber’s temporary retail shop The Goon Docks, located at 1590 Marine Drive, to satisfy any Goonies fan’s memorabilia needs. Regina Willkie, the event’s organizer, has stocked the retail space with souvenir T-shirts, sweatshirts, pint glasses and even shiny commemorative gold doubloons. 

She’s hoping sales of Goonies merchandise and event tickets at the Goon Docks will be enough to recover what the Chamber has invested into the event. 

“For the most part, the event has to pay for itself through the merchandise and ticket sales,” Willkie said. Many businesses have donated their goods and services to the event – for example, Englund Marine donated the cavernous space the Chamber has turned into The Goon Docks for retail and ticket sales. 

About 65 volunteers are staffing the store during its five-day lifespan, and they’re ready to help all the customers, no matter how many that could be, Willkie said.

An early indicator of just how big the crowd might be – on Thursday afternoon, as the first few fans were trickling into the store, about 1,000 people had placed advanced ticket and merchandise orders on the Chamber’s website.

Hoping to snag a share of Goonies “rich stuff” themselves, many area businesses have created Goonies-themed items for everyone who will be walking through their doors this weekend.

A total of 11 restaurants, coffee shops and other retailers are stops along the official Goonies treasure map, and hope treasure-seekers will stop in for a snack or linger for more shopping along their journey through town. Willkie said the Chamber designed the activity to make sure one-time visitors circulate within the town.

“It is something to generate them going out and patronizing the businesses in the local community,” she said. 

For Tim Allwein, owner of Amazing Stories Comic and Games, that meant three months of stocking up on Goonies collectibles. He spent an additional $10,000 on inventory, trying to find unique items from the ’80s that won’t be available elsewhere this weekend.

Trading cards, iron-on patches, buttons, posters and even a Goonies Mad Magazine will be for sale, Allwein said.

“I’ve increased what I carry to suit the Goonies fans,” he said Thursday. Allwein has also beefed up his staff, adding more hours onto his employees’ schedules to basically double their floor presence. He’ll be pleased if the number of visitors this weekend eclipses what they saw over Memorial Day weekend.

“I had a great weekend last weekend. If it’s anything like that, it’ll be great,” Allwein said.

A few blocks down, the Astoria Coffeehouse and Bistro is also prepped for floods of hungry Goonies fans. With a special menu featuring “Mouth’s” Veal Scallopini, “Fratelli’s” Fusilli pasta and “One-eyed Willie’s” Salmon, co-owner Jim Defeo said there’s about a third more food in the cooler to feed more customers over the next few days. 

Staffing, Defeo said, hasn’t been adjusted much. 

“They’ll just work a little faster,” he said with a smile.

The Wet Dog’s Astoria Brewing Company and Fort George Brewery together have made a special brew, Truffle Shuffle Stout, that will be on tap at the Coffeehouse and several other locations around town. It’s been brewed especially for the 25th Anniversary of The Goonies. In a joint effort, the two breweries made 8 1/4 barrels or about 270 gallons. They used 7 ounces of black truffles in the brewing process, boiling the potent mushrooms in the beer for about 90 minutes. 

The truffle theme also made sense for Columbia Chocolates, stop No. 6 on the treasure map. The sweet shop will offer a free Goonies goodie to everyone ont hte hunt who comes in. 

The Baby Ruth candy bar will also be a favorite, showing up in desserts all over town. The Silver Salmon, stop No. 8 on the map, will sell Baby Ruth cheesecake for $5.95 a slice said co-owner Jeff Martin. He’s already stocked his refrigerator with the homemade dessert, but is ready to hop back in the kitchen if it’s a quick sell out.

“I’ve got four made, but I’m ready to do more. If things start to get crazy, I’ll be baking cheesecake late into the night,” Martin said.

If Martin’s up in the wee hours on Saturday night, he won’t be alone. That night, six businesses will celebrate the ’80s, hosting dancing, costume contests and Goonies trivia competitions.