If you attended SunFest last year and took a stroll down Clematis Avenue, you’re in for a surprise during this year’s event.

At least 11 new restaurants have opened since the first of the year. The newest one, ZaZu, is scheduled to open just in time for SunFest.

And that doesn’t count the opening of Sforza’s Ristorante or Spanky’s Sports Bar last January. Another four restaurants and bars will be opening in the near future.

They range from the Italian cuisine of Sforza’s to the Chicago steakhouse feel of My Martini and Big City Tavern. A popular West Palm Beach Japanese restaurant opened a sushi bar. Dax Bar & Grille provides more of a party atmosphere.

In fact, business is so good in the once-dying downtown area that new businesses have been sprouting left and right. That means there should be much more to do for SunFest participants who decide to linger in downtown West Palm Beach after the show.

“We calculate that 40 percent [of the new businesses) are 3 years or less old,” said Bill Fountain, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority.

Fountain estimates that the downtown area has now seating capacity for 5,205 people along Clematis Avenue, from the Clematis Street entrance of SunFest near Narcissus Avenue to the 500 block west of the railroad tracks.

The festival moved its north gate from Datura to Clematis and that made a difference, Fountain said.

“Last year there was a great deal of impact. We were beginning to get some of the new restaurants and retailers,” he said. “So many people will come in and leave on Clematis and that will make a big difference.”

SunFest has its good side and its bad side for the downtown merchants, the restaurants and nightclubs in particular. While SunFest is going on, the patrons are less likely to stop by. But once it ends at 10 p.m., celebrants tend to wander Clematis looking for other things to do.

“It’s a big help because of the size of it,” said Tom Johnson, coordinator of the Downtown Merchants Association and the Downtown Hospitality Association. “It’s a really big help, especially in May. It really throws a big financial shot to downtown. The benefits outweigh the problems.”

Spanky’s Sports Bar and Grill, which had only been open for a few months during last year’s SunFest, saw a lot of after-hours business during the event. But it didn’t see as much during the day, when people would be more likely to order food.

The restaurant scaled back its menu for the festival so it could serve as many people as possible.

“We didn’t know what to expect, since we’re four blocks from the Intracoastal,” said Craig Hills, a Spanky’s manager and chef. “We got more at night, but it was more of a bar crowd than a food crowd. It helped us, if anything, because it brought people downtown.”

This year, he expects to see lots more people, as word of mouth gets out about downtown West Palm.

“We do expect to be busier this year, since they’re trying to get people to come to downtown during the day,” Hills said.