Restaurants benefit from deer hunters
COSHOCTON COUNTY – Deer hunters flocked to Coshocton County last week for gun season, but they weren’t just in the woods. They also supported many of our county’s restaurants.
“Sales were up because of them,” said Keith Saylor, co-owner of Roberta’s Diner in Warsaw. “We even opened Monday for them, which is one day we are normally closed.”
He said the hunters they spoke with came from all over.
“There was a gentleman this morning (Nov. 30) that was from the upper peninsula of Michigan,” Saylor said. “There was another one from Chicago, some from Indiana and several from different places in Ohio.”
Late breakfast time seemed to be the most popular time for hunters to stop at Roberta’s.
“They’d go directly to the woods in the morning and then hit us around 10 a.m.,” Saylor said.
Peggy Sue Wilson from Peggy Sue’s Steak & Ribs in Newcastle saw most of her deer hunters for lunch and dinner.
“Most of mine went into the woods early and then when they’d get cold they’d come in for lunch and dinner later,” she said.
Wilson stayed open later on Monday and Tuesday for the hunters and tried to pass out some coupons for them.
“Deer hunters bring a lot of money into Coshocton County,” she said. “They don’t just show up though. A lot of them have been hunting Woodbury for many years. We know some of them by name and the state they are from. Coming back here is a tradition for most.”
Cricket Myer from Myer’s Country Diner in West Lafayette said she had one gentleman from Cleveland say he started coming to Coshocton County because his uncle used to live in the area.
“Most of my hunters come at lunch,” she said. “They come out of the woods for a while, eat and turn around and go right back out.”
John Larson from the Warehouse Steak n’ Stein agreed with Wilson that hunters have a big impact on business in the county.
“We’ve had a nice turn out of hunters,” he said. “Some we see from year to year and some are new. We’ve seen hunters from Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and really from all over. We have nice conversations with them and find out that some stay here in cabins and some lease property.”
Category: Business