As fall arrives, we talk with Bend businesses about a strong, busy summer despite the heat, wildfires and smoke

(Update: adding comment from Thump Coffee, Deschutes Brewery, Tumalo Creek)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- With mid-September and cooler, wetter weather here and official fall fast approaching this weekend, Central Oregon's summer tourism is coming to a close.

Bend is well-known for its peak tourism seasons in the winter and the summer, with shoulder seasons allowing for businesses to regroup and still seek visitors in various ways.

"We definitely rely on tourism. You know, it's our bread and butter in the summer," said Melissa Talbott, assistant general manager with Deschutes Brewery. "We would have guests lined up out the front door to come in during the summer hours. And now, it takes a little time for them to to gear up and come in."

Talbott says they had record-breaking numbers in July. Similar to other businesses, she notes they had one of their most successful summers to date, including summers prior to the pandemic.

John Holowaty, general manager for Thump Coffee, said, "I'd say it was as busy, if not busier than previous summers, especially coming out of the pandemic."

Sue Fox, a manager with Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe, said floating the Deschutes River is always a draw: "We've been seeing big numbers for the last several years, really pre-COVID with the tubes - people really want to be on the tubes these days."

Both Thump Coffee and Tumalo Creek said they saw higher foot traffic during summertime tourism, compared to previous years.

"I'd say definitely higher," said Holowaty.

"I would say full occupancy," said Fox.

Now that summer is ending, most businesses are gearing up for a brief slower season before winter tourism ramps up.

"We definitely regroup," Talbott said. "We definitely change our staffing and times that they come in to work, their shifts. We definitely decrease the number of people we have, in terms of normally in the summer, we might have five servers on to start the shift, but now we have two servers on."

Fox said, "We definitely cut staff, but most of our staff is going back to school anyway for our seasonal staff, and so it works out really well."

For businesses like Thump Coffee, business still booms in the off-season, thanks to locals.

"Once you get into the shoulder seasons, fall winter, we don't see too much of a downtick. It just changes back to kind of more of the local regulars and that sort of crowd," Holowaty said.

Food and dining businesses like Deschutes Brewery see a shift from tourist-based business to more local-based business in the off-season.

"We definitely appreciate all of our locals that come in and support us as well, and we really appreciate them coming in after the business levels have dropped," Talbott said.

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