Ellison Bay businesses coping with drop in tourists
AP Story courtesy Duluth News Tribune
ELLISON BAY, Wis. – The tiny resort town that forms the inside edge of the “thumb” of the Door County peninsula doesn’t experience the same tourist traffic elsewhere in the area.
Now the business community is even more isolated after propane gas explosions killed two people and injured several more last Monday.
Investigators are continuing to look for the cause and source of the blast, and drivers can’t use the closed road that winds through downtown.
But Gov. Jim Doyle toured the site on Saturday and said the state was ready to lend a hand.
“The property damage will be rebuilt and we’ll work through to get all of that done but we really, really are thinking and praying for the family of those who have died and those who were injured,” Doyle said.
Since the explosions weren’t a natural disaster, the governor couldn’t bring immediate help. He still promised aid to the businesses in the community.
“There are great programs from the Department of Commerce that can help people get back on track,” Doyle said. “There are ways we can help facilitate businesses working through the Small Business Administration to get funds to get businesses back and going.”
Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel said they’ll also need the governor to help offset the cost of the investigation.
“This was devastating for the community, but it was also devastated a lot of departments here budget-wise, personnel-wise,” Vogel said. “I’ve got faith in him and he said if we need his help we should get a hold of him. We’ll be doing that.”
Meanwhile, tourists apparently have been avoiding the whole area, as businesses outside of the barricaded sites have seen a steep drop in sales.
“We’d probably be seeing three to four times as much traffic out here” if not for the explosions and road blockage, said Clay Bay Pottery owner David Aurelius.
North of the police barricades, Gills Rock business owners are struggling, too.
“It’s been pretty quiet up here all week,” said Lynn Hass, owner of Hedgehog Gifts in Gills Rock. “We should be at our peak right now. I’d say we’re down at least 30 percent but that’s just a guess. People see the road is closed and they turn around and go home.”
Larry Thoreson, owner of Gills Rock Stoneware in northern Ellison Bay said there was initial spike in traffic. Now, it’s sparse.
“The first couple days after the explosions, a lot of people were coming in, but there has been so much information out about all the stores being closed, and the highway, it’s been sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said. “The last few days have been very quiet.”
Brian Linden, a co-owner of Linden Gallery, said they’ll make it through the hardships.
“It’s not really lost business, just postponed,” Linden said. “We’re dealing with 2,000-year-old ceramics. If it doesn’t sell, it only grows in value, and suddenly it’s 2,001 years old.”