Chamber reports healthy season for businesses

The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce says that it appears that Sisters Country businesses faired well during the holidays this year.

In a brief informal phone survey of business owners/managers, many positive comments were made about these last few weeks of holiday shopping.

Most mentioned that even though the shopping season started a little late, they noticed a good turnout in Sisters this year. Sisters Dollar Store owner Cynthia Hydes reported that the store was very busy in their first holiday season here.

The Fly Fisher's Place recorded a fantastic December, according to owner Jeff Perin.

"We were up 42 percent over December 2008 when I checked on the 23rd," he said.

John Leavitt of Leavitt's also reported improved sales over last year.

For many shop owners this is great news especially given the economic times that have hit rural communities of Oregon and across the country.

Julia Rickards, owner of Clearwater Gallery, said numbers may be down a bit from last year, but she is still optimistic.

"I think people are a bit more cautious with their discretionary income and I've noticed that foot traffic seems to be down," she said. "We've still had people coming in from out-of-town to specifically purchase from us, we've also sold a number of big items."

This comment was echoed by Chris Wilder of Sisters Log Furniture who reported being flat with the holiday sales of 2008. Large ticket items seemed to be a big seller this year.

"The large furniture sales were up versus home décor from last year," he said.

Teri Applegarth from DonTerra Art Works said, "We've doubled the business from last year and we're still busy." She said she has locals, as well as many people from out-of-town who repeatedly visit her store thanks to her mailing list.

Sisters Country lodging properties reported being up in number of occupied room nights over last year. Paul Haggerty, general manager for the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge reports they are almost fully booked through the New Year holiday. He is reporting 120 more room nights in December 2009 versus the same time last year, an increase of 10 percent.

Other lodging properties, including Lake Creek Lodge, FivePine Lodge & Conference Center and The Lodge at Suttle Lake report they are currently up over last year. Jennifer Severiede, Marketing Manager at Lake Creek Lodge stated they are "up 28 percent comparing December 20, 2008-January 5, 2009 versus bookings for those same dates this year. We are already at 50 percent capacity for Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Weekend," she said.

The chamber sent out its visitor newsletter to more than 1,500 names on December 29, focusing on winter recreation and other fun things to do in Sisters Country in the coming months. Several lodging properties have winter specials in place in order to entice travelers for a quick holiday getaway this winter.