Eagle River Marina Bankruptcy

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by dookieboy

Good post fishin. I'm not a full timer their yet, but hope to be in '09.
In a lot of cases, it's not greed but a matter of survival (business wise) that makes the local proprietor's bump their prices in accordance with what is in season. If a town is overrun with tourists for an event, then yes, the cost of doing business goes up for a better profit. Busy summer weekends can help make ends meet in March for small businesses in areas like this. I doubt any grocers or gas station owners are getting rich. Just trying to keep the wheels turning. So I don't really have a problem with this seasonal "tourist price gouging". On the flip side, it does affect the full timers. But like you, you need to learn where and when the cheaper prices are, and shop accordingly. If it means planning a weekly drive down to Rhinelander or where ever to stock up, you do it.
Living in a remote, beautiful area like the northwoods can come with a price. Convenience is most certainly the first thing you give up. And if in this case, the area is a tourist destination (like it or not berries, it is the base of the economy), than dealing with the busy summer weekends is another thing. Not too big of a deal, if you ask me. In this economy, at least the people are still coming. And with any luck, more people will be like you fishin49. You don't come across as a "me first", "my boat is faster" kind of person. Wishing you many more happy northwoods weekends!

As for berries, I know we have traded a few jabs over the past year, I want you to know that I respect your opinions. I don't always agree, but I do respect them. Hope you have a great holiday season!

I couldn't have said it any better. Good post!

[43north87west]

For those of you tourists who did business with this marina....what goes round, comes round. Couldn't happen to nicer people...

Well, anyway, just a thank you to the tourists. Thank you for not coming here.

The scorched earth attitude from Northern Wisconsin defies logic. There are a group of locals that can't wait for the place to be ruined so that tourists stay away. Some people want the economy to be in the tank because it'll make things so miserable, everyone will leave. Nothing is better than something, as long as it shows those tourists.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by berries

... now bring on some producing jobs and quit trying to live on out of stater property taxes and we will have a real economy, not one based on looking at pretty lakes and eating cheesburgers.

I'm sure if "producing jobs" did show up, we'd hear the same people complaining about the slave labor jobs that everyone is forced to take in a mine or a manufacturing facility or a lumberyard.

The advantage of this remote area, is that it is within weekend-home reach for people from the southern part of the state and northern IL. Tourism is the producing job. It brings dollars, and people buy property, pay property tax, and spend money on local goods and services.

On that note, because most industry and business do not elect to locate 100 miles from the nearest airport or interstate, it is very hard to attract business that isn't reliant on local industry. Northern WI is way off the beaten path, and geographically it isn't located in a place that will attract production requiring anything beyond local distribution. Coupled with a cold, snowy climate, high taxes, and locals who put up a fight about the jobs that pay them, would you put a company there?

The other thing is, what keeps people there if it's so miserable? I don't get this. The place is so bad, that the same people keep living there and complaining about it. If the jobs are so bad, and the employment prospects are so grim, then leave! The industry is tourism. Not because the economy was decidedly designed that way--because that's what the area has to offer. If there were diamonds to be mined or oil to be pumped, it would be much different.

[DropADime2FBI]

The demise of the marina fingerpointing is going the wrong way. Funny how Heckel's did a great business year after year after year until M&I pulled their loan out of the blue.... Kind of a HUGE coincidence that the new owner (big franchise) was also an M&I client. Kind of a HUGE coincidence this has happened exactly the same way to four other local-owned marinas. Anyone know the definition of Coercion? Collusion?

[fxsts]

The information on the demise is not finger pointing, Heckels was out of trust on its floor plan. Its supplier noticed about 500k in inventory sold and not paid for to the supplier. This was not an M&I initiated closure, but started with the supplier. As I understand it, Skipper Buds bought the entire package, to avoid all the inventory being flooded on the market.