Economic signs point to better 2011

It's dangerous to prognosticate about economic trends in Sisters, but the signs seem to be pointing to an uptick in the local economy.

Sisters businesses experienced a brisk holiday season, despite weather conditions that made navigating the downtown shopping district challenging.

The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce surveyed member businesses and found that many Sisters Country businesses saw an increase in sales over the holidays.

Although some owners noted that the shopping season started late, many of their businesses fared well during the month of December.  Jacquie Zanck, owner of Blazin Saddles Cycle-n-Style, reported that they were very busy over their first holiday season.

Mitch Mansfield, of Sisters Olive & Nut, said that their sales were up by 33 percent over last December. Sisters Olive & Nut was so busy over December that shoppers purchased the inventory he had ordered to get the specialty store through March. The Fly Fisher's Place also recorded a strong December, noting that sales were up by 5 percent compared to last year. Owner of The Fly Fisher's Place, Jeff Perin, noticed strong local support from Black Butte, Camp Sherman, and Sisters.

Loraine Robertson, from Bedouin, also recognized local faces doing their holiday shopping in Sisters.

"There was a really big flurry of locals that wanted to support smaller businesses," she said. "I felt a really good local presence and they kept coming back day to day."

Bobbi Meritt, owner of Desert Charm, said that her customers from Sisters paused from their shopping to ask her if her store is doing well.

"I think there is a greater awareness in Sisters this year that we need to support our local businesses," she said.

Although some business owners said that the winter weather was a challenge and may have hurt the turnout of shoppers, Sisters Country lodges and hotels got a boost from the snow.

"The wintry weather was a huge benefit to us and we were well occupied for the holiday season," said Greg Willitts, general manager of FivePine Lodge.

Black Butte Ranch saw a 12-14 percent increase over December of 2009. Sales and Marketing Director Charles Kingsbaker noted that the snowy weather and the skiing conditions at Hoodoo helped to attract families to the Sisters Country.

Best Western Ponderosa Lodge also reported that they did much better this holiday season than last year. Several lodging properties have specials and ski packages that are enticing cost-conscious visitors to the Sisters Country as a wintertime destination.

Sisters Economic Development Manager Mac Hay reported on his work to a joint meeting of the Sisters City Council and the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners last week.

"I think we will continue to be a niche in the economy that is successful," Hay said.

He believes that Sisters' tourism-based economy is better placed than Central Oregon at large to take advantage of a shift toward more local travel.

"People, instead of going to Hawaii, Disneyland, and Mexico, are coming here," he said.

Hay has a number of irons in the fire when it comes to attracting businesses, including some possible business relocations to Sisters and some expansion of an existing business.

He noted interest from a business offering an "airport-based recreation experience."

Due to confidentiality agreements, Hay was unable to provide details.

Hay also reported that he has been working on retention, putting business owners in touch with management education and financial resources.

Hay said that local loan activity is critical to jump-starting the economy and he is hopeful that local banks are ready to do business.

"Every indication I have is that they're going to be ready to go in the first quarter," he said.

The real estate market and the construction industry remain quite slow, and Hay acknowledged that people are still waiting to see if the markets have hit bottom.

Falling land prices have been a boon to Sisters Habitat for Humanity, which is close to acquiring enough lots for a nine-year inventory (see story, page 3).

That collateral impact of the tough economy may actually allow some working families to keep their foothold in Sisters.

Recognizing that recovery across the nation is fragile, Hay was temperate in his optimism.

"I don't think we're going to see a giant spike," he said. "I think we're going to see some slow recovery. And I think Sisters is in as good a position to take advantage of that as anybody."