There is redemption in the Bend. Like most tourist-dependent communities, businesses are relishing in the extended warm weather, especially given a terrible start to the summer season.
Back in late June, CTV News visited Grand Bend merchants who spoke of one of the worst starts in recent history for the popular Lake Huron resort town.
However, nearly three months later, the situation has drastically changed.
The new president of the Grand Bend Chamber of Commerce concurs May and June caused “real concern” for retailers, as the rain kept falling.
But, with the extended summer conditions Jeff Pacheco believes the tables have now turned.
As the director of Sales and Marketing at Oakwood Resort, he points to his own business, where he says August sales exploded compared to last year, up nearly 3,000 rooms.
“To have that flow through to September, and even into October, I feel Mother Nature is going to be good to us into October.”
On the main strip, small business owners agree, and also report that a significant sales uptick has saved the summer from what was shaping up to be a disaster.
Anne Seegmiller, of Kazwear Bikini, believes people “just missed June, completely, so they are hanging on (to summer) as long as they can.”
