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| 5/30/2008 8:25:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Northwoods appeal, family traditions drive start of summer season
Most report Memorial Day weekend a good start to season; hope kickstart will last the summer
While much has been made in the press of record high gas prices, which topped the $4 per gallon mark last week, extra pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters at the pump seemed to do little to deter Memorial Day tourism traffic through the Northwoods.
And while questions and concerns linger over the impact of gas prices on discretionary purchases, retail sales for the extended Memorial Day weekend were largely positive, albeit somewhat mixed, throughout the Lakeland area.
At the 486-member Minocqua-Arbor Vitae-Woodruff Area Chamber of Commerce, executive director Diane Hapka said an informal chamber poll of member businesses found encouraging sales trends, with many restaurants surveyed turning in sales gains of 12, 20 and even 50 percent over prior-year levels.
"They're holding their own and they're optimistic," Hapka said of chamber member businesses.
Traffic along Hwy. 51 past the chamber headquarters was heavy.
"We saw quite a bit of traffic - people were here," Hapka said. "I think that's pretty darn positive. The entire Northwoods seemed to have a good number of people. I was very pleased seeing the migration north on Friday. The Northwoods got its share of traffic this past weekend."
While gas prices may be high, Hapka feels longstanding family traditions of Northwoods vacations will trump pain at the gas pump.
"It's a longstanding tradition in many families to come to the Northwoods," she said. "People would rather skimp on something back home than skimp on coming here. They're going to come here on vacation no matter what ... People look forward all year long to experiencing the Northwoods in the summer. It would be hard for families not to continue that tradition."
Hapka said close proximity to home and a host of "attractive" stores, activities and entertainment options will position the Northwoods well in the tourism market, retaining longtime vacationers and tapping new markets of tourists looking for affordable vacation options to the traditional long-distance summer road trip.
Longtime downtown Minocqua clothing retailer Dale Burbie said he was "pleased" with the "excellent" sales at his Omni and No Sweat clothing stores, calling business good in all lines of merchandise, but particularly in Crocs-brand footwear.
Up Oneida Street at Dan's Minocqua Fudge, a popular 41-year downtown anchor, manager Mike Johnson reported an "extremely busy weekend" for the fudge, candy and ice cream shop, noting he's expecting a "busier summer" than last year.
Johnson said Island vehicle and pedestrian traffic was strong over the extended holiday weekend.
"All the downtown merchants were busy from what I understand," Johnson said. "I don't think gas prices are slowing anyone down from coming up here."
But at Golden Karat Jewelers, co-owner Phil Root said sales were "not as strong" as last year, noting that while customer counts through the Island store were strong, shoppers turned more "cautious" in their spending than in previous years, calling it a "sign of the times" given current gas prices and the state of the economy.
"There were a lot of people, but not a lot of people spending money," he said. "...We did a lot of 'showing.' The store wasn't empty by any means. People did make purchases, but they were definitely more cautious about what they were spending and what purchases they were going to make."
Root said it was a positive sign that there were so many people flocking to the Lakeland area for the Memorial Day holiday, noting the downtown Island business district "looked good and busy."
"We're thankful that they were here in the area," he said. "Maybe the cash register's weren't ringing, but there were a lot of people. As long as we can say people are coming, that's a good sign."
In 1,006-resident Boulder Junction, Chamber of Commerce executive secretary Theresa Smith said the 118-member chamber kept busy over the Memorial Day weekend fielding information requests from a steady procession of walk-in customers - residents and tourists alike.
"We were quite busy with people coming in and out," she said. "Overall, our foot traffic was in line with last year's. We had people from the southern part of the state, others from the Wausau-Stevens Point area ..."
Traffic through Boulder Junction's downtown business district on Hwy. M, she noted, was also heavy.
"It seemed busy," she noted. "Parking spaces were full ... I saw a lot of Illinois license plates in town."
Smith also reported a good turnout for the chamber's Saturday noon geocaching flash mob event at Lakes Propane Company's muskie-decorated LP gas tank on Hwy. K, just west of downtown.
The flash mob, held in conjunction with the opening of muskie season on area lakes, drew 15 avid geocachers from communities as near as Eagle River, Stevens Point and Antigo and as far afield as Ft. Atkinson, west of Milwaukee.
At the call of "it's the big one," the assembled geocachers threw imaginary fishing rods toward the muskie and then pretended to reel it in. Participants were then able to log the flash mob as part of their online www.geocaching.com cache tally.
Said Smith of Saturday's geocaching flash mob event, a quirky offshoot of the growing "silent sport" of geocaching high tech treasure hunting, "It was fun - something different."
For all the traffic through downtown Boulder Junction over the Memorial Day weekend, retail sales were somewhat of a mixed bag this year.
Stephanie Miesbauer, owner of The Blueberry Patch, an 18-year-old specialty gift shop, reported being "very pleased" with the results of the opening weekend.
"There were a lot of people around," she noted. "I'm very happy. There was a lot of auto traffic and people traffic. For the number of people [who] came up and the amount of sales that we had, it's looking positive on the retail end. I'm very pleased. I'm feeling very positive that we're going to have a good summer season."
At The Fisherman's Wife, a Boulder Junction antique and gift shop, bookkeeper Russ Ryden said sales were up slightly from last year, thanks in part to good antique sales.
"We were satisfied," he said of Memorial Day Weekend sales. "We had a very good amount of people in, but I didn't think a lot of them bought."
Traffic through town over the weekend, he said, was good.
"People were up and we were happy with that," Ryden said. "It was nice to see people back in town ..."
But farther west on Main Street at the Peeplelures jewelry store, co-owner Craig Mason reported that he and several other Boulder Junction retailers had a disappointing opening weekend, with sales down significantly over prior year levels.
"We didn't know what to expect," Mason said of the impact of high gasoline costs on retail sales, noting prices surpassed the $4 per gallon mark last week.
"While we had a lot of foot traffic, a lot of people in the store, they were looking and browsing but definitely not buying anything. It's not looking good. While people are here, they're coming up, they're not buying ... People only have so much expendable income and it's all going into the gas tank ..."
In 670-resident Manitowish Waters, Chamber of Commerce director Jodi McMahon reported that she observed a good level of traffic through the town over the extended Memorial Day holiday weekend.
"It looked like there was a decent amount of traffic, particularly Saturday and Sunday," she said. "It was a really nice, busy weekend. Everybody was skeptical of what to expect come Memorial Day weekend, given the high gas prices. There were a record number of people at the Lion's Pancake Breakfast on Sunday and our Memorial Day program on Monday was nicely attended. It was really buzzing in town - hopefully a sign of things to come the rest of the summer. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it will be a good summer season."
With a preponderance of vehicles pulling boats, McMahon said a "bonus" for the town's bread-and-butter tourist trade are this year's "good lake levels" on the Manitowish Chain, which took a big hit during last summer's extreme drought.
Among the Manitowish Waters businesses capitalizing on the strong traffic through town over the Memorial Day weekend was LaPorte's Market, a full-service family-owned supermarket.
"We were right where we usually are on Memorial Day weekend," said third generation owner Barbara LaPorte-Bartling, who reported "some empty shelves" in the store following the holiday.
"It was a typical opening weekend for us. We weren't quite sure what to expect in light of the high gas prices. It seemed to have very little effect on our customers - people came to the area in spite of the gas prices. We're optimistic that it will be a busy summer, typical if not possibly even a little better than usual. We don't expect any negative impact ..."
At Up North Wisconsin, a 10-year-old Northwoods-themed gift shop south of Manitowish Waters on Hwy. 51, owner Debbie Meier reported better-than-average sales for the traditional summer tourism season kickoff.
"We had a very good Memorial Day weekend, better than it has been for a number of years," she said. "There were a lot of people - and a lot of people buying."
While she hopes opening weekend sales are a harbinger of things to come this summer, Meier said she's not sure what to expect over the coming months in light of rising gas prices that have now topped an eye-popping $4 per gallon.
"I don't know what's ahead of us," she noted. "I think a lot of it will depend on the gas prices. A lot of people are complaining about the price of gas. I'm hoping the [Memorial Day] weekend is going to indicate what this summer is going to be like, but who knows?"
One possibility, Meier speculated, is that tourists may come north for extended Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day holidays instead of the steady summer-long traffic typically seen in the Northwoods.
Time, as they say, will tell.
Restaurant business strong
Dining opportunities abound throughout the greater Lakeland and northern Wisconsin area, and now with the first push of tourists to the area, many of those in the restaurant and night spot industry have had little time to relax with business still flocking in.
"It was a good weekend for Boulder," said Steve and Amy Wheeler, owners of The Outdoorsman in Boulder Junction. "Some days we were up, some days were a little slower than others, but, for the most part, overall our guest count numbers were up from last year."
The Wheelers said last summer was a down year overall in comparison, but only by about two percent. This year so far they have seen things float right around normal and a little above.
"We're seeing it right on even keel compared to past years. Overall, this year we might end up being a little shy but nothing crazy."
Denise Pitzo, who with her brother, Mike, owns Polecat and Lace in downtown Minocqua, said they, too, saw a lot of familiar faces, but were also surprised with the amount of first-time visitors to the area.
"We had a better weekend than last year at this time," Denise said. "Even coming to and from, looking up and down the streets, it seemed like there was a lot of people out carrying around bags from different stores."
Pitzo said the gas prices may have actually helped the area this Memorial Day because those people who would normally go farther away for their extended weekend stayed closer to home and took advantage of the local fare.
"It wasn't like the people that came in were skimping either," Pitzo said. "They were buying appetizers, cocktails, dinners and all those things."
According to Bob Paul, general manager at Otto's Beer & Brat Garden in downtown Minocqua, the busy weekend was welcome and not overly surprising.
"We're positioned pretty nicely and have a lot to offer to different crowds, whether it be the dinner crowd or the younger groups with our nightly entertainment," Paul said. "Overall, our weekend was comparable to last year."
Being a longtime business owner in downtown Minocqua, the Pitzos enjoy seeing their loyal customers come back each season, but said they were surprised with the amount of new business they had. She drew testament to the high gas prices for keeping some people in the Minocqua area or even stopping some from going farther.
"We had some fishermen in who normally take their trip to Canada each year, but now with the price of gas they have decided to stay a little closer ..." Pitzo said.
Paul agreed that many people who were accustomed to longer travels are now being attracted to closer-to-home versions of vacation getaways.
"People aren't going to make those long driving trips like they did in the past like out to Yellowstone, but they are still going to go on vacations," Paul said.
Though it's early in the tourist season and the Wheelers say the true testament is yet to come, they were pleased with the amount of tourist traffic and the familiar faces they saw once again this season.
"A lot of the Chicago boys and girls still make the drive," Steve Wheeler said. "I expect to see the number decline a little bit, but overall the people who are going to travel are still going to travel. No one wants to take their fun money away just yet."
Paul said what could have accounted for the busy weekend was the fact that many people were making their first trips to their summer hideaways, thanks to the unusually long spring.
"We saw a lot of familiar faces for the first time this year," Paul said. "A lot of people were first just opening up their cottages this weekend."
Wheeler also drew reference to the fact that people are creatures of habit, and doesn't anticipate too many breaking their summer routines because of the price of a gallon of gas.
"Even if it's not a 'blow up your skirt' kinda summer, it will still be a busy one," Wheeler said. "People can only sit inside and stare at the same four walls for so long. I mean, I love my family to death, but if you lock me down with them for the entire summer I might go crazy."
"Ask me in July and I might be telling you a different story, but if this weekend is any indication, I think we'll have a good year," Paul said.
"From our perspective the weekend was a barn-burner," said Eagle River restaurateur Ron Mienholz, owner of the Riverstone Restaurant & Tavern and Soda Pops.
"To put it in perspective, Soda Pops only seats 50 people and we served 356 people on Saturday and 420 people on Sunday."
With more than 33 years in the tourism industry, Mienholz said even he was skeptical before the weekend of what business might be like.
"Before the weekend, we looked at CNN and a lot of other news outlets that were saying 12 percent of people would not travel and 10 percent would spend significantly less, but what we saw was nothing of the sort," Mienholz said. "People were ordering what they really wanted."
At Riverstone, Mienholz tracks his customers by area codes. He indicated the majority of his traffic were those from the Milwaukee, Chicago and Fox Valley areas but was surprised with the number from outside the typical regions as well.
"It just goes to show that the people have not forgotten about the Northwoods," Mienholz said. "If you have that passion in your heart, then people are still going to come."
Hotels, motels see good bookings
Despite the cost of unleaded gas at $4.08 over Memorial Day weekend, business was better than expected for many owners of local hotels and resorts.
"I wasn't sure with the price of gas being so high," Erin Kosiba of the Comfort Inn of Minocqua said.
However, business at the Comfort Inn was good, especially on Saturday and Sunday. There were several advance reservations and quite a few walk-ins. The situation was similar at other area accommodations.
"It was good, it was better than we'd hoped," Jim Johnson, owner of Boulder Bear Motor Lodge in Boulder Junction, said about business over the weekend.
According to Johnson, they had even more guests than last year, perhaps because of the good weather.
Other hotels were about as full as expected, such as the Best Western Concord Inn and the Waters of Minocqua.
"We didn't have any significant up or down swings in business," Todd Nasi, general manager of The Waters, said. Nor did he expect to.
Michael Broderick, marketing director of Lake of the Torches Resort and Casino, also reported that business met expectations.
"We ran a couple of successful promotions," Broderick said. "We definitely had to work at it."
No one reported business as being slower than expected, but there does seem to be a trend in last minute bookings. The business over the weekend may be an indicator as to how the summer will be.
"I think people are not going farther," a representative from Bay View Lodge said. "I'm looking forward to more people coming from Wausau and the Chippewa Valley."
Nasi, on the other hand, doesn't expect the clientele of The Waters to change much. The majority of their guests have always come from southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, and he expects it to remain so.
The Waters has an average number of advance reservations for mid-June when business usually picks up, Nasi said.
Reporters Doug Etten and Rachel White contributed to this story.
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