Cloudy isn't cool for tourist season

COEUR d’ALENE — One sure sign of summer is the long line of hungry people waiting to fill their bellies with old-fashioned fare at Roger's Ice Cream and Burgers on Sherman Avenue.

That line has sometimes been sumptuously long this summer, but with the overcast and cooler weather that has had a hold on the Northwest, businesses that thrive during tourist season are noticing a difference.

“With the colder weather, it’s brought a lot of slower business,” said Roger's employee Olivia Maryon, 18, who greeted guests at the service window Wednesday afternoon. "We get really high sales during the summer, but we just started with high sales. Last year it started in June; this summer we started in July."

According to Press meteorologist Randy Mann's July 18 weather column, titled "What hot summer? Not here in Northwest," June was fairly normal and dry while July has proven to be about 3-4 degrees colder and wetter than average. The colder weather directly impacts tourist season, which flourishes when visitors flock to Lake Coeur d'Alene to cool off on a hot summer day.

"Everyone's really happy about it because they're happy it's not super hot," Maryon said. "Or, they're upset about it because they wanted to have a hot day."

The 2016 tourist season in North Idaho may be slower and cooler that normal, but at least it's not hampered by choking wildfire smoke and extreme heat and dryness.

"It's gone better than last year," said Karen Laramie, general manager of Baymont Suites on east Sherman. "We've had kind of a rainy July, so people have been mixed about the weather, but now it's been picking up and getting better, so hopefully we'll have just a wonderful August like we usually do."

She said she didn't hear too many complaints about the smoke last year because the weather is "out of our control."

"But a lot of people were leaving because they couldn't breathe because of asthmatic problems," she said. "(The smoke and heat) did affect our business for sure."

Just to the west of Baymont Suites, the El Rancho Motel, which receives visitors from across the United States and Canada, has had a pretty average season with plenty of guests this summer.

"I'm guessing they enjoy it a little bit when it's not so hot," said El Rancho general manager Dave Smith. "We haven't had real, real hot weather yet and it's almost inevitable we get some sometime. Usually it's 90 through this month, but not this year."

He said in the past, people have complained about getting stuck in their rooms because of rain, but that hasn't happened this season.

Across town in Riverstone, the weather isn't impacting business too much — just enough to notice.

"It's been pretty good," said Claire Jensen, 18, an employee at the Riverstone San Francisco Sourdough Eatery. "It's kind of humid, so people are trying to get in here to get away from it all."

But the cloudy days and rain sprinkles do affect outdoor seating.

"The inconsistent weather with the clouds hurts a bit," said Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery general manager Peter Goodwin.

Goodwin said Bardenay's patio opened a month early this year as spring brought beautiful weather with it. He said the overcast days can have an impact, but nowhere near the impact that was felt during smoky and hazy 2015.

"The smoke did (impact us) for sure," Goodwin said. "We wouldn't even have people on our patio the last three weeks of August. It would be 85 and smoky and everyone would be inside with the doors closed."

At the Red Lion Templin’s Hotel in Post Falls, which is located right on the river, last year's hot summer was actually better for guests who wanted to play outside; cold gray days don't exactly invite people outdoors.

"There have been some weekends that have been tough and they're not able to enjoy the outdoor weather as much as they would like," said Templin's general manager Dave Malone, who sees many return visitors every summer. "It hasn't been brutally cold, but our guests are recognizing that the weather is milder.

"The cooler weather impacts us a little more."

Malone said the weather really has no effect on the business groups that use Red Lion's facilities, and although leisure travel was slow to start this summer, things are looking up.

"Our outlook moving forward is positive," he said. "We think the rest of the summer is going to continue to be strong."

According to Mann’s column that will be published Monday, July should finish out sunny and warm, but a snowier, colder winter could be just around the corner.