Local businesses prepare for water ski visitors

Local businesses are preparing for a wave of visitors to the Shawano area this weekend as the Shawano Ski Sharks host a national tournament Aug. 6-8.

“According to the information that I received, a couple thousand visitors are expected,” Shawano Chamber of Commerce Tourism Manager Patti Peterson said.

Many local businesses and hotels are preparing to host hundreds of guests, as they shop, eat and sleep all around Shawano.

“This weekend is similar to most summer weekends here,” said AmeriVu Inn and Suites manager Nick Patel. “We are fully booked.”

Patel said all 49 rooms at the hotel were full, with close to 100 people staying there.

Jessie Warrington, the manager of Quality Inn and Suites in Shawano, said they also were fully booked.

“We have around 150 people staying with us for that weekend,” said Warrington.

She added that she is excited to see the hotel booked for the tournament so visitors can get out and not only watch the tournament, but experience Shawano as well.

“This should help the Shawano area,” Warrington said. “It will bring more revenue into the city, as well as give people something to do rather than be cooped up inside from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Curt Preston, co-owner of Old Glory Candy, said that they are always welcoming visitors from big events in Shawano to his store.

“We are hoping and preparing for more traffic from visitors during the tournament,” Preston said.

He added that the preparation for the extra visitors will involve a staffing increase.

“We want to be as staffed as possible,” Preston said. “We also want to create a great experience for the customers coming in, so we don’t want to rush people in and out. It will be a balancing act for the customers to have that great experience.”

Visitors to the store will be encouraged to try some of the samples of fudge, including flavors like whiskey old-fashioned sweet and watermelon, he said.

Yvette Wilber, the owner of Tumbleweed, said she is anticipating the apparel store to very busy during the tournament.

“Business will be up not only for us, but for everyone in Shawano,” said Wilber. “This will be really great for everyone to get this extra foot traffic.”

Wilber said she hopes visitors enjoy the experience and spread the word about Tumbleweed and Shawano.

One business that has been seeing more traffic recently is anticipating more as the tournament proceeds. Stubborn Brothers Brewery has seen an uptick in business due to their Hometown Hero American ale, said co-owner Aaron Gilling.

“We will be running business like usual,” Gilling said.

He said he believes that having a tournament with an anticipated audience of this size will have a positive impact.

“Everyone will benefit from this — Shawano will benefit from this,” said Gilling. “Every business will work together to benefit. We all support each other’s businesses, and that will help Shawano succeed in general.”

The businesses also plan to run special deals and promotions for the occasion. Stubborn Brothers is offering a buy-one-get-one deal on their porter and amber, Old Glory Candy is running a deal where if customers buy a pound of fudge, they get a quarter-pound free, and Tumbleweed is giving out hats with purchases.

Peterson said Angie’s Main Cafe, Old Glory Candy, The Stock Market and Stubborn Brothers are also taking part in a coupon sheet promotion, where coupons for those businesses will be distributed at the Ski Sharks tournament.

According to Brad Keuschel, a member of the Ski Sharks and a leader in bringing the tournament to Shawano, the action on the water will be wrapped up by 4 p.m. each day, giving visitors and competitors time to experience what Shawano has to offer.

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lreimer@newmedia-wi.com