Downtown Port Clinton comes alive on summer nights
PORT CLINTON - On a Saturday evening, it's difficult to find a parking spot in downtown Port Clinton.
That's one of the reasons Maria Claus rode her jet ski to the Bait House River Bar, docking it right next to the seating area on a large outside deck. Claus was meeting up with her friend, Sue Segaard, for a few drinks.
Segaard said she loves spending a night in downtown Port Clinton.
"Give me local, downtown Port Clinton over Put-in-Bay any day," said Segaard, referring to popular tourist spot on South Bass Island. "Who needs to pay $30 for a ferry ticket to go to the Bay?"
Beau Scott's been working at The Bait House for two years. He says weekends in the summer are always busy.
"On Fridays and Saturdays, it gets hard to walk," Scott said, motioning to the already crowded tables.
Down the road at Slater's Madison Street Pub, every table was full of couples and friends laughing over their dinners. The waitresses barely had time to stop and talk about how busy they were.
"Our busiest nights are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday," said Sherry Depner, a bartender at Slater's. "We'll get wall-to-wall people."
All the bars and restaurants along the main drag were bustling with a mixture of tourists and locals, a scene that's become typical for downtown Port Clinton in recent years.
"There's been an increase in people downtown," said Nikki Adams, the president of Main Street Port Clinton. "There are a lot of people walking around, especially in the evenings."
Downtown revitalization efforts attract tourists
Port Clinton has undergone several projects to revitalize and attract people to the historic downtown district.
One of the most recent projects was a multimillion dollar overhaul of Madison Street that included vital water and sewer infrastructure improvements, as well as a complete redesign of the roads and sidewalks.
Although the construction hindered businesses while it was happening, the project ultimately led to a more attractive and accessible downtown.
"We've definitely been busier after the Madison Street project," Depner said about Slater's Pub.
“As soon as the road work and other construction was starting to happen, you saw businesses outside painting and making their storefronts look good," said Adams. "I think it had a snowball effect.”
This year, Main Street Port Clinton awarded $15,000 to downtown building and business owners to make further improvements on their properties.
Live entertainment everywhere
Main Street also hosts events to try to attract people to the downtown area, such as the weekly Riverfront Live! concert series. The series includes a free concert held every Friday at 6 p.m.
There is a multitude of live music being performed on any given weekend.
At the Bait House, Matt Goodrich sings cover tunes to a lively crowd.
"What most people don't realize about downtown is that there's live music almost every night," Claus said loudly, over the sound of Goodrich playing his guitar.
Segaard prefers a more quiet setting for her music consumption. Her favorite thing about downtown Port Clinton is The Listening Room, a small concert venue that allows for an intimate experience.
"It's the most underrated place in Port Clinton," Segaard said. "People have no idea how awesome it is."
Across the street from the Bait House, workers at Great Lakes Popcorn Company are filling bags with flavorful, multicolored popcorn.
"We have a bunch of flavors," said Rachel Hudec. "One of the favorites is the vanilla butternut, or the watermelon."
Hudec has worked at Great Lakes Popcorn for six years, and knows locals' orders by heart.
"In the summer, our customers are probably 80 percent tourists, but we do get a lot of locals," Hudec said.
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She said the company's busiest times are during holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Christmas.
"We get slammed," Hudec said.
Claus and Segaard both live in the Port Clinton area, but many of the downtown's summer consumers are tourists.
"Our office will get 10-15 people every day, with people walking in and wanting maps and information about the area," said Adams. "The bulk of the people are tourists looking for stuff to do."
Lift bridge closure affects businesses
The prolonged construction of the Port Clinton Lift Bridge is impacting the local businesses and restaurants.
The historic bridge has been subject to numerous delays, and the completion date initially targeted for the Memorial Day Weekend has been pushed back several times. ODOT recently announced the bridge would reopen Aug. 7.
Jannah Wilson, the manager of Dock's Beach House, says the closure has impacted the amount of people she's seen come into the restaurant.
"It's killing everybody over here," said Wilson. "Ninety percent of the calls we get are asking, 'How do you get over to your place?'"
Hannah Witte used to go to Mr. Ed's Bar & Grille, across the street from Dock's Beach House, on a regular basis before the bridge closed.
"My dad and I used to go to Mr. Ed's every week but now we have to go all the way around, so we only go once in a while," said Witte.
"I know that it's been tough on some businesses," Adams said about the bridge closure. "There are little nooks that have been hit hard. But if people just take the extra 10 minutes to around and go to some of those businesses..."
Wilson noted that Dock's Beach House still gets busy despite the bridge closure.
"When it's hot out, we're slammed," she said. "During the weekend, we have been packed well until 1 a.m. in the morning."
While its nightlife culture isn't exactly thriving, summer weekends in downtown Port Clinton are the busiest they've ever been.
"You don't have to go to Put-in-Bay," said Segaard. "I love it here."
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