Bigfork businesses welcome tourists — with reservations

Phase Two of Governor Steve Bullock’s plan to reopen the state will open the doors to out-of-state visitors, increased building occupancies and the elimination of the 14-day quarantine period for travelers. It’s a source of excitement — and some concern — for Bigfork business owners.

“Our outlook is positive,” said Echo Lake Café co-owner Mark Herman. “But we have to be conscientious about social distancing.”

Echo Lake Café closed for about six weeks during the governor’s stay-at-home order and reopened last week. Now, they’re focused on serving their loyal customer base, preparing for the tourist influx and making sure everyone at the café stays safe and healthy.

“It was pretty brutal being closed,” Herman reported. “Summer is an integral part of making it through the year.”

So far, he said Echo Lake Café has seen “a good customer base coming back” and “everyone has been very cautious.” But he pointed out, the summer season brings in a lot of out-of-state visitors with second homes in Bigfork, and he was a little worried about maintaining social distancing in the small space with these out-of-state visitors.

Even though Echo Lake Café would be allowed to operate at 75% capacity in Phase Two, Herman has decided to keep the occupancy closer to 50% for now because the restaurant doesn’t have the space to safely spread out that many people. They also added a sanitizing station at the front of the restaurant with a sign that encourages visitors to clean their hands before entering.

With these precautions in place, Herman admitted he’s “a little concerned” about the restaurant’s bottom line. He was appreciative of the customers that have already returned or placed to-go orders, but he said if the restaurant can’t safely operate at full capacity by July Fourth, they could be in big trouble.

The modest changes with Phase Two, he said, “won’t really change anything for us.”

But other Bigfork business owners anticipate a more significant transformation starting June 1.

“I’m happy they can actually come and stay,” said Margrit Matter, who runs the Swan River Inn, when asked about out-of-state visitors. She said out-of-town customers “seem to be starting to book” trips to Bigfork after a wave of cancellations.

Matter said they lost a lot of bookings from the cancellation of the Bigfork Spartan Race and Bigfork Whitewater Festival. She and her sister, who run the inn together, were supported by people who made months-long reservations and thus were still able to visit, despite the required 14-day quarantine. They also decided to start renting properties month-by-month, which she said helped because a few people moved to Bigfork to escape more crowded urban areas.

But she wasn’t sure if this would be enough to sustain the business if tourism doesn’t pick up substantially.

“It’s going to be extremely difficult to say,” she admitted. “We lost a lot …hopefully the summer will at least keep us afloat.”

Outfitter Mike Howe agreed that Phase Two “needed to happen” for his businesses — Howe’s Fishing/A Able Charters and Mo Fisch Charters — but he also recognized he’s in a tricky situation when it comes to serving out-of-state customers.

“It’s quite a relief to us,” Howe said. “Well over 80% of our business is from the out-of-state tourist.”

But while he welcomed these key customers, he didn’t want to do so at the expense of his employees’ health. He explained social distancing isn’t too much of a concern for passengers on his charters, who mostly travel in small groups together, but he did want to keep the guides from being exposed to customers from out of state. During the stay-at-home period, he reported he turned down “well over 20 trips” because the people who booked them had not observed the 14-day quarantine.

“I didn’t want to risk any of my guides,” he explained.

“Thankfully we didn’t get hurt as bad as we could have,” he added. Still, he said he’s already received a lot of cancellations for July and August, and he wondered if those trips might be rebooked or replaced by new ones. If the Going-to-the-Sun Road doesn’t reopen, or the valley experiences a bad fire season, or a second wave of the virus hits the area, Howe wasn’t sure how his businesses would weather the storm.

“This tourism business is tough,” he remarked. “There are a lot of variables.”

Kate Harris, who owns The Montana Scene gift shop on Electric Avenue, was also relieved but cautious about moving into Phase Two.

“We’re definitely excited,” she related. “We’re doing what we can to keep everyone safe.”

The store has been more cautious than some with its approach to reopening. They opted to remain closed for two extra weeks after Governor Bullock lifted the stay-at-home order in order to make sure they had the necessary precautions in place.

“We wanted to make sure we were making the right decision for our community and our employees,” Harris said.

Since reopening on Friday, they’ve rearranged the store, required employees to wear masks and restricted occupancy to 10 people indoors at a time. They’ve also limited coffee customers to outdoor seating only.

It’s been a financial strain, Harris said, but online sales have helped carry them through the slump. To make up for an expected drop in tourists this year, they’re also hoping to revamp the space to cater more to locals in the off season with a wintertime hangout spot.

“We have to change our game in Bigfork,” Harris said. ■