BOYNE FALLS -- Over the next few months, as the snow is falling, snowmobile traffic in Boyne Falls should be up, which means good news for local businesses“We wanted to come up and have fun before the holidays to support the economy up here and just have a good time,” Visiting snowmobile rider Drew Jenkins said.
Snow sports are a big part of Northern Michigan's local economy. Businesses like Boyne Recreational Rentals rely on the snow to drive sales. Owner Mark Lannen hopes this year's weather is more productive than last year's mild winter.
“It was hard on a lot of local businesses more than just us, we buy our parts locally, our gas locally, and a lot of our people go to our restaurants too,” Lannen said.
Just down the road at Larry's Seven Ski Inn, hundreds of snowmobile riders use his restaurant each day.
“We do about a third of our business between the days of Christmas and New Years,” Larry's Seven Ski Inn Owner Larry Sevenski said.
Sevenski says last year's winter definitely hurt business and the local economy can't afford another mild season.
“If you don't have snow, you have a bad year, you lose your income, the help don't get paid, it's just not a good thing we gotta have snow, Northern Michigan needs snow,” Sevenski said.
So far, the snow has fallen in favor of local businesses. Over the weekend alone, sales are up, and the next few weeks looks promising.
“I think the economy is picking up and people are coming up to have some fun,” Lannen said.
