At the outset of the summer, we posed this question: Could 2021 be the biggest tourism season in northern Michigan history? Now two months in, with a modified Cherry Festival behind us and a return of COVID-19 precautions seemingly imminent as case numbers rise nationwide, The Ticker touches base with one downtown Traverse City restauranteur, one retailer, one bar owner, and the head of the Cherry Festival to hear how summer 2021 is stacking up versus pre-COVID times (hint: hiring is an issue across the board).

Cari Samalik, who owns the downtown clothing store Livnfresh, says her business has been way up from the pre-pandemic 2019 summer.

“There are a lot more people [in town] – and a lot more people buying – this year,” Samalik says, noting that foot traffic in the store has been noticeably more robust this summer that it was two years ago.

Adrienne Brunette – who owns two downtown restaurants, in Mama Lu’s and The Flying Noodle – says the comparison for her is somewhat challenging, given that The Flying Noodle didn’t open until last year. Still, she estimates traffic in town has been similar to a pre-pandemic summer, but says that Mama Lu’s has definitely seen an uptick in business.

“[This year is] the same in terms of people in town and traffic [as 2019],” Brunette tells The Ticker. “We are busier as a restaurant in general, though, and most of that comes from catering being very busy (we’re booked out through the summer), people replanning events that would have happened in 2020, and then of course our to-go margaritas continuing to be a huge hit!”

On the other hand, Matt Cozzens, who owns 7 Monks Taproom and Low Bar on Union Street, says things haven’t quite gotten back to where they were before COVID, but notes that “we’re definitely getting closer to those numbers in both Low Bar and 7 Monks, now that the restrictions have been lifted.”

As for the Cherry Festival, Executive Director Kat Paye estimates the event was a tad smaller in terms of attendance this year – a natural side effect, perhaps, of some of the biggest festival staples being absent from this year’s itinerary.

“We are a non-gated Festival so attendance is hard to project,” Paye explains. “We were steady busy [throughout the festival], but without the mad rushes of crowds that we are used to in a year with the air show, the parades, and the large concerts at the Open Space.”

One area where tracking metrics was possible at this year’s Cherry Festival seems to confirm Paye’s sense that the festival was a little quieter this summer: The Festival of Races, held the last day of the festival, drew approximately 2,150 runners across four in-person races this year – a significant drop from the 3,000 or so that raced at 2019’s event.

One not-so-surprising factor that’s likely skewing Traverse City’s summer is the hiring problem. Inability to find employees has left many local businesses to operate on a short-staffed basis – affecting hours of operation, product and service offerings, speed of service, and everything in between.

Both Samalik and Cozzens rate their staffing challenges at a severity level of 10 out of 10. Samalik says that “people are just not applying for jobs” regardless of what her business does, and that limited staff for Livnfresh this summer has affected the store’s hours. Her store is open 55 hours per week versus 63 hours per week during the summer of 2018.

For 7 Monks, the staffing challenge has also meant slashing the schedule – cutting lunchtime hours in the middle of the week.

“Our staff has worked so hard filling gaps where maybe we would’ve had another person or two in the past,” Cozzens explains. “We’re not open for lunch Tuesday through Thursday, but quality of life is huge for all of us. Hopefully, come September we’ll see an uptick in qualified applicants.”

Brunette, meanwhile, says that difficulty finding employees is par for the course for restaurant owners in Traverse City.

“COVID or not, staffing is always an issue for restaurants,” Brunette notes. “It's a transient business and we live in a tourist town. The extreme demand fluctuation makes staffing even more tricky. If you asked me any summer in the past five years, ‘Are we fully staffed?’, the answer would always be ‘No.’ We don't have the talent pool that larger cities have, and we don't have enough restaurant seats to accommodate the large groups of summer tourists. So, the pressure comes from both sides, so to speak.”

Staffing has also led several local restaurants to scale back on the thing that got many of them through the worst of the pandemic in the first place: takeout service. Mama Lu’s, for instance, is currently limiting takeout options to “taco kits and chips and salsa,” while Rare Bird Brewpub is not offering any takeout service due to short-staffing.

If there’s a silver lining for downtown, it’s that the customers – locals and out-of-towners alike – seem to be bringing more patience to the table this summer. Last summer, numerous restaurants, bars, and other businesses in downtown TC and beyond posted statements on social media decrying harassment from customers who were frustrated with everything from mask mandates to capacity restrictions to lengthy wait times for service. This year, Cozzens says he’s seen a distinct improvement in customer mentality.

“All have been very gracious to our staff, as it’s been a long 18 months,” he says. “Great customers.”
Paye reports a similar trend from the Cherry Festival.

“The customers were patient and delightful this year, and we were appreciative of that, as we staff our events with 100 percent volunteers,” Paye explains. “Really, the biggest highlight [of this year’s festival] was seeing all our amazing volunteers again, and getting to greet our guests and welcome them back.”