Optimism on the rise
Dells businesses hopeful people will start traveling again
WISCONSIN DELLS - Boats glided on the Wisconsin River on a recent morning, offering a small smattering of tourists a view of the Wisconsin Dells from the water.
This past week marked the first time the Dells Boat Tours and the Original Wisconsin Ducks, two popular river attractions, were able to take passengers out this year, a stark difference from past springs.
Normally, the tours begin in April, as families start to flood Wisconsin Dells for spring break trips, said Jason Garbacz, the operations manager for Dells Boat Tours.
But nothing about this year has been normal.
Thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, Wisconsin Dells has been almost completely quiet. There weren’t tourists wandering between shops or enjoying beers downtown. The slides at the indoor water parks were empty. For six weeks, tourist spending dried up.
“It was like the Dells 50 years ago in the winter,” said Mayor Ed Wojnicz.
With stay-at-home restrictions lifted but public concerns lingering, businesses in the Dells — one of the state’s most dependable and durable tourist destinations — are preparing for their biggest challenge in decades.
What’s at stake?
The $1.2 billion of spending that some 4 million visitors — many of them from out of state — bring to the region every year. According to the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau, that spending created more than 16,000 jobs in 2019.
Even mainstay destinations like the Tommy Bartlett show and the boat tours have lowered expectations, and say that despite worry over the economic effect of COVID-19 they are trying to remain optimistic.
Wojnicz said all the closures and the steep drop in tourism — many wellknown spots only began reopening in recent days — has meant a loss of tax revenue that helps his town of about 3,000 function.
“For the first quarter, we’re projecting a 50% loss,” he said. “We rely on that for things like EMS and public works.”
Convention bureau officials don’t yet have a measure of the actual economic effect of the crisis, said president and CEO Romy Snyder. She is holding out hope that — while this year will look different than past ones — the reopening of the state means people will start traveling again.
“Certainly there are individuals that are anxious to get out on the road and visit the Wisconsin Dells,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
‘It’s uncharted territory’
At the High Rock Café, owners Wade Bernander and Justin Draper are trying a new approach to sanitizing surfaces: ultraviolet light.
Their multi-level cafe was the second restaurant establishment in the country to try the new treatment, which in the past has mostly been used to help clean and sanitize laundry, the owners said.
On Wednesday, UV towers were wheeled into the restaurant, which sits along the main drag of Wisconsin Dells,
MARK HOFFMAN / MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
and turned on in 15-minute increments. Eventually, the light covered every part of the restaurant.
The machines, created by Omni Solutions of Baraboo, were then followed by
the spraying of a solution on all the surfaces of the restaurant, Bernander said. The solution is supposed to kill the virus on surfaces, such as if someone sneezes on a table.
“It’s shock and shield,” Bernander said, “meaning the UV lights blast and kill everything, and then they go behind it with this nontoxic, water soluble sanitizer product that actually creates a bed of spikes, so when the virus falls on it, it pierces it and kills the virus.”
The treatment lasts about 90 days, at which point it will be done again.
UV treatments have been used in several other industries, including health care, to prevent the spread of infections, according to an April 28 article from Duke Health.
Though science isn’t exactly sure about how the virus spreads, the operators of the High Rock hope customers will see how seriously they are taking the threat.
During a normal summer, the restaurant routinely has 45-minute waits for seating. Now, the seating capacity will be reduced by about 50% to help maintain social distancing.
“It’s uncharted territory,” said Draper.
The Dells Boat Tours and Original Wisconsin Ducks are also implementing a routine when it comes to cleaning, disinfecting and keeping social distance.
The two tour companies are only allowing about 50% of the normal capacity for all of their tours, said Dan Gavinski, the general manager for both operations.
The boats will be disinfected every two hours and there will be hand sanitizer onboard, as well as hand-washing stations at all the stops.
And because the tours are outdoor activities — and experts say the risk of catching the virus is lower outside than inside — operators hope guests will be able to enjoy their time without worry.
“Hopefully, we can help people maybe forget about things for a few hours,” Gavinski said. “And just be entertained.”
Small businesses will muscle through
Fifty years ago, the Dells was just coming into its popularity.
The Tommy Bartlett Ski Show, along with the long-running boat tours, were in full swing, but indoor water parks were still decades away.
Today those water parks line the streets and are mixed in with amusement parks, go-cart tracks, miniature golf operations, candy stores and wax museums. There are so many manmade attractions, it’s easy to forget the beauty of the rock formations that line the Wisconsin River and the nearby state parks and wild areas.
Still, the local economy includes many smaller, family-run operations.
For Margaret Gewont, not seeing the smiling faces of customers at her motel has been the hardest part of the past months. She’s owned and operated Fitzgerald’s Motel, along with her husband, for the last 25 years.
“In the past, this place was happier, more alive,” she said. “There were more people enjoying the Dells.”
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, her 37-room motel has seen very few visitors. Mostly it’s been people in town for emergency situations, she said.
“At the moment, it’s very difficult financially,” she said. “We have to pay the bills.”
Gewont isn’t the only one that’s facing an uncertain future.
High Rock Café is also facing somewhat unstable times, after being closed for a month. The restaurant, which has been open for 15 years, has been open year-round for the last 10.
“Without that little boost from spring break, it’s just out of sorts for some of us,” Bernander said.
But with support from local banks, insurance and a small business grant from the federal government, the duo is feeling optimistic about the future, not just for their business, but for others in the area.
“I think we’ve got a lot of smart business owners in this area, and this will just make another feather in their hat,” Bernander said. “Because they muscled through it.”
Even now, with a Supreme Court ruling having lifted Gov. Tony Evers’ stayat-home order, Gewont didn’t see an influx of reservations for the holiday weekend, usually a busy time for Fitzgerald’s.
During a normal summer season, the main drag of the Dells is much busier.
Tourists wander from shop to shop, eating ice cream cones and donning
Wisconsin Dells T-shirts, while others toss bags on restaurant patios while listening to live music. On a normal night, storefronts light up the street with neon signs, beckoning customers with promises of trinkets or ice cold beer.
Gewont is missing all that, plus the annual Memorial Day parade, which would have wound its way through downtown this weekend.
It’s a time of change and adaption, she said.
She’s ordered a sheet of Plexiglas for the hotel’s main office, to separate her and guests when they check in and out. The number of people in rooms will be limited, as well as the number of people who can use the pool behind the motel at one time.
She has put hand sanitizer in every room, and guests have access to sanitizing spray if they want to clean any surfaces in their room on their own. Like the High Rock, she has considered looking into UV treatments to clean rooms and the lobby.
Despite all of the change, Gewont remains optimistic. She just hopes that when things start to look better when it comes to the virus, that her guests will still visit the Dells.
“This time is important,” she said of the coronavirus era. “We’ll see a better future because of it. It’s a time for us all to learn.”