Eateries, pubs benefit from ski season

(1/1) As ski season at Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center, Carroll Valley Borough, gets under way, local businesses begin to reach out to the thousands that the resort attracts during the winter season.

Emmitsburg Subway, Silo Hill Road, sees a lot of traffic above the normal flow during ski season.

Lyn Biller, co-owner, told the News-Journal, "At our Subway in Emmitsburg, we usually get a big boost in January from skiers."

"We also get a lot of late evening and night business from people coming off the slopes, so we've actually expanded our hours to stay open later," she stated.

"Our ads in the News-Journal have helped target these customers who often pick up a copy," she said. "We also sell a lot of hot subs (meatballs, etcetera)."

Bob Hance, owner-manager of the Carriage House Inn, Emmitsburg, said, "It (ski season) has a positive effect. We do a few. It’s helpful to get through the first quarter" with the additional business that does come into the restaurant.

"We put a welcome skier and golfers billboard up hoping that has a positive effect as well," he said. "Every little bit helps to get us through the winter."

JD’s Restaurant, which opened last year on East Main Street in Emmitsburg at the former location of the Main Street Grill, is owned and operated by Joe Few.

Few said they are anxious to see how this year’s ski season will impact their business.

"We did see some last year," Few stated. "We expect to see quite a few traveling by here for ski season. That’s who we wanted to reach out to last year."

However, the restaurant has an additional attraction this December which he hopes will enhance the attraction of the eatery to the skiers, a bar. "I’m hoping I get some more (ski patrons as a result)," he said.

The ripple effect of ski season emanating from Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center can be felt as far away from the "epicenter" as Taneytown.

Brooke Hagerty, owner of Gunners Grille, Taneytown Pike, Taneytown, said, "Last year was our first year and there was very little snow." In spite of that, she said, "We got a fair amount (of business) last year" from the ski season.

The restaurant placed a sign outside the eatery stating, "Skiers Welcome," and "made sure we put ‘Skiers Welcome’ in our ad, hoping to get a whole lot of skiers business. Everything is dependent on what’s happening out there (weather)," Hagerty stated.

She also pans to "keep kitchen open until at least 10 p.m. and, on the weekend, later." Hagerty said, this year, "The goal is to get even more (ski patrons) than last year."