Jan. 4—ASHTABULA — Bridge Street businesses reflected on a year of growth, challenges, tourism and community support in 2024.
Bridge Street Artworks owner Judy Campbell said it was an excellent year.
“Yes, there were things that happened with the weather in December, but overall we made our numbers,” she said. “The last two weeks blew it out the door. I have 32 artists in here.
“Everybody made their nut for the month. December pulled us out of the doldrums after September. Our tourism has picked up. Most of our sales in 2024 were from out of town. I track that now, so I amazed how many people from Pittsburgh, New York, as far away as Philadelphia come in and love the lake. Pittsburgh especially, Youngstown, they are buying. Overall, it was a pretty good year.”
Heartmade Boutique owner Melody Shiflet said it was a challenging year.
“Unfortunately, it was a down year in every way from sales/transaction, number/average sale and pretty much any every category,” she said. “Election years have a way of doing that, but there’s been a steady decline in small businesses nationally for the past two years and election years are always terrible.”
Despite these challenges, Shiflet said meeting visitors and tourists is always rewarding.
“On the bright side, nothing can take away from meeting cool new people that are discovering our little oasis and forging new friendships with people from all across the country,” she said. “I sell nothing of necessity, so when you’re in the business of fun and frivolity, you must roll with the punches. If they give us ration booklets for the apocalypse, I will gladly accept your soap ration coupons.”
Harbor Perk Coffeehouse and Roasting Co. owners Michael and Steve Cray said they can’t overstate how wonderful the Harbor Perk community is.
According to the Crays, they have continued offering Ashtabula a rotating selection of single-origin, organic, fair trade arabica beans sourced from around the world.
The Crays said they love being a small business, and working together with other small businesses. They are proud to be bring Harbor Perk coffee to more locations throughout Ashtabula County, including an exclusive blend offered only at Orlando’s Supermarket.
Rennick Meat Market owner Jennifer Pociask said overall business was good.
“We celebrated our 10-year anniversary this past June,” she said. “We saw a lot of tourists from out of town. We hosted a few bourbon tastings and a tequila tasting. We plan on hosting more in 2025, along with pop-up brunches once a month. [These will be] every second Sunday each month.”
Bascule Bridge Grille owner John Senger said it was the busiest year the restaurant has had since they opened 13 years ago.
“We had some challenges with the power going out for an extended period, as well as it going out another time during a very busy Saturday night,” he said. “Crazy snowfall closed us down for a couple of days, but it wasn’t anything insurmountable.
“We really owe a lot of the restaurants success to our long-term staff. We have several all-stars working for us that we rely on to make sure everything is done to the quality that we want. I think the hotel opening next door definitely drove some volume into our doors.”
Harbor Halcyon owner Jenny Luhta said 2024 was a time of growth and expansion, in the Harbor and elsewhere. Halcyon opened a new location in Perry in 2024.
“Special memories were made on the street throughout the year and the community rose up to help each other out through Snowmaggedon,” she said. “May 2025 bestow even more goodness to one and all as we walk this journey together.”
The Riverbend Hotel has received a positive response from the local community and visitors since its opening in September, according to General Manager Michael Woodin.
He said many guests are traveling to the area to experience the new hotel.
“It’s fun to see a lot of people who say they used to live here and are coming back to see it,” Woodin said. “It really seems like people are coming from all over, usually within a few hours of the hotel. Not horribly far, but definitely we’ve had people coming from Florida and different areas.”
cball@starbeacon.com