STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Door County is wrapping up its tourism season with many businesses saying it was a busy and successful summer.
Kitty O’ Reillys in Sturgeon Bay is having a good summer. The Irish Pub and other restaurants say the tourism season had a slow start, but once it ramped up, it stayed constant.
“Right now, our foot traffic Memorial [Day] through Labor Day, which is today, we are up 23% just in foot traffic,” says co-owner of Kitty O’ Reillys Buster Crook.
Businesses and tourists say this feels like the first normal summer in Door County since the pandemic started.
Crook tells FOX 11 he’s seen a whole different attitude in people this summer.
“They’re enjoying their life again. They’re sitting down for a nice meal. They’re not worried who’s walking next to them. They’re not yelling at the server for not wearing a mask.”
Over at Stone Harbor, general manager and co-owner Nancy Bertz is also seeing bigger crowds.
“We had music out here all weekend, every weekend. The patio was packed, the hotel was full — it was great.”
With more tourists back in Door County, staffing had become an issue for many businesses, like Sonny’s Pizzeria.
“There was times where, say, we got a tiki bar — we don’t have enough to staff it. Or the patio, you just make what you can do, or someone is taking up two sections — you just do what you can,” says General Manager of Sonny’s Pizzeria Nolan Paschke.
Some tourists have noticed the struggles restaurants and other businesses are facing.
“I can tell that many of them are hurting — tons of signs looking for help. I think it’s a local problem and a national problem,” says tourist Mark Weisberg. “Most of the workers are trying their best, but they seem stressed. A lot of places are just barely hanging on.”
Sonny’s Pizzeria was only able to get one J-1 Visa international worker, but Kitty O’ Reillys had 12.
“Different countries come and go at different times, so we try to fluctuate our countries based on who can come early and help us out for Memorial Weekend and who can come a little later and stay until September,” says Crook.
They had workers from Turkey, Colombia, Thailand and Mongolia this year.
With the tourists coming back, more restaurants are hoping to get additional international workers next summer.
Restaurant owners are hopeful that business will remain steady throughout the fall.
Summer Tourism statistics have not come out yet.
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