Grand Marais tourism plunges as BWCA fires burn

On a typical Sunday morning in Grand Marais, the line for World’s Best Donuts is out the door and around the corner.

But over the weekend, that line all but disappeared. Kristin Christenson and her family sailed in and out the door.

“We just got here yesterday and we couldn’t believe how not busy it was,” said Christenson, who travels here every year from Fergus Falls. “I don’t think we’ve ever come to World’s Best Donuts and not had a line.”

Grand Marais is situated on the shores of Lake Superior and at the gateway to the Gunflint Trail. Every summer, tourists like Christenson flock to the area to canoe and hike, and their spending fuels this community of 1,300.

But a week ago, tourists stopped coming when the U.S. Forest Service closed the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Smoke from fire burning far west of the town has created hazardous air conditions.

The closure comes at the peak summer season for World’s Best Donuts and many other businesses nearby.

“We’re open from May to October, so this is like prime time,” said Malorie Brazell, who owns the shop.

Brazell said she’s sent staff home early the last few days.

“Just this weekend, we made a little bit of staff changes. Normally, we have three people helping customers, and we really can get by with one,” she said.

Another closure, another financial hit

Brazell is among small business owners here who are wondering how long the smoke and Boundary Waters closures, which have been extended through at least the end of the week, will linger. Every day they do, business takes another hit.

Angry Trout owner Jessy Goble says this time of year, every seat on her patio would normally be full, the kitchen working to serve seafood to 400 to 500 people a day.

But smoke and poor air quality prompted her to close the restaurant for a few days.

­“We opened yesterday for the first time since the big plume of smoke came down the trail. We’ll open it up for inside seating only to help keep our staff feeling comfortable and safe,” she said. “It’s kind of depressing to come down here and see nobody sitting on the deck, when it’s this time of the year where it’s just such a coveted place to eat.”

Indoor businesses are getting hit hard, too, said Abby Tofte. She owns The Big Lake, a gift store in downtown Grand Marais. Foot traffic is way down compared to just a week ago, she said.

“The summer is where we make all of the money, and September. So July through September, that’s when you make the hay. That’s why this is pretty scary,” said Tofte.

Tofte said she’s getting calls from vacationers who planned to travel there, asking if the area is safe.

“A lot of people just don’t have the information to know where the fires are, and you just kind of clump all of Cook County together, and really, we’re very far away from where the actual fire is happening,” she said.

Tourist Kristin Christenson said her family didn’t consider cancelling their trip.

“We want this town to survive. We love it so much. We want to keep coming back. And in order to survive, they need to be full the third week in July,” she said.

So this year, Christenson said that instead of lots of long hikes in the wilderness, she and her family will stick closer to town so they can support the local businesses they’ve grown to love so much.