Stephen Herzog
stephen.herzog@lakesunonline.com
The Fourth of July is about celebrating our independence. It’s about fireworks and barbecues.
And at the Lake of the Ozarks, it’s also about beer – and a lot of it.
“The Fourth is our biggest weekend of the year,” said Bill Van Pool, department manager of wine and spirits at Hy-Vee in Osage Beach. “We do probably 2-3 times what we normally sell.”
And that’s not just the case at Hy-Vee. Businesses around the lake expect a boost this time of the season, and with lower gas prices and better weather this year, hopes are high.
“Looking at the stores at the lake (Tuesday), things looked good,” said Bernie Fechtel of Fechtel Beverage in Jefferson City, which distributes most popular non-Anheuser-Busch brands. “I’m anxious to see what happens.”
Fechtel said he spoke to vacationers from St. Louis and Jefferson City who were coming to the lake instead of taking a vacation to someplace farther away.
“They’re having what we call ‘staycations,’ spending a day or two at the lake instead of maybe a week in Florida,” he said.
And that’s good news for Fechtel and fellow distributors Missouri Eagle in Lebanon.
Both said approximately 25 percent of their annual sales at the lake come in the month of July.
“It’s very important to us,” said Brad Brown of Missouri Eagle, which distributes Anheuser-Busch products. “We do well throughout the whole summer, but July is a big one.”
Fechtel said the key season is from mid-May to late September or early October, but July, and specifically the Fourth weekend, is the climax. And the lake is where it happens.
“The lion’s share of our total business is at the lake,” he said.
Van Pool said it’s the same at Hy-Vee. He said from March to June, business builds up to the week of the Fourth.
“There are thousands and thousands of cases of beer here,” he said, “and I expect it to all be gone by Monday.”
Van Pool said he buys for a half-million people, because that’s how many he expects through the store from Monday to Monday.
It has the potential to make things congested, but both grocers and distributors are planning the necessary precautions to keep things as easy as possible.
“We try to be receptive to what retailers need,” Fechtel said. “We try to get in and get out of the way. We might send two trucks and hit 10 stores instead of sending just one truck.”
Van Pool said it might seem like the high volume of customers and deliveries could create a problem, but that’s not really the case.
“We’re getting pretty good at this,” he said.
He said they planned for a 20-25 percent increase this year, because like many others at the lake, he’s expecting more visitors than last year.
Though the forecast is calling for some showers, it’s not expected to be as wet as previous year, when it rained at least part of every weekend from September 2007 to July 2008.
Coupled with the high gas prices of ‘08, just about everyone at the lake saw a dip last year.
“When gas got up to $4 or $4.25 in April, and higher on the water, people in Chicago, Detroit, etc. decided not to come,” Fechtel said. “People looked at the weather and saw rain, rain and figured it would cost $125 to drive up and $125 to drive back.”
But the hopes for 2009 are much higher, and Brown believes it’s not just because of gas prices and weather.
“I think this season will be better because people are rediscovering the beauty and ease of the Lake of the Ozarks,” he said. “It’s close to home, it’s affordable and you can relax. It’s the greatest place to be in Missouri.”
The Lake Sun reminds everyone to be safe and drink responsibly, taking precautions on land and on the water.
