Baileys Harbor's Renaissance

from Door County Living - Late Summer 2023

by Door County Pulse

Find your summer story.

by BEN JONES

or many years, Baileys Harbor was a place that many Door County tourists simply missed.

Overshadowed by the bustling villages on the bay side of the county, the town had a cooler temperature and a more quiet presence. It was a place where visitors could escape the crowds and enjoy a beautiful lakefront view without too much company. Some tourists only passed through, barely tapping the brakes as they followed Highway 57 north.

Times have changed.

“It was always considered the ‘quiet side’ of Door County, but it doesn’t feel so quiet anymore,” said Kari Baumann, in between serving customers at the Baileys 57 service station and food market.

Although it’s an old town – named after a ship captain who took refuge there during an 1848 storm – it’s thriving with new energy and has become a place that’s far busier than many could have predicted even a decade ago. Scores of northbound drivers are now stopping – and staying – right where they are.

The Baileys Harbor business community has boomed in recent years, with vibrant, new shops and restaurants drawing new crowds of visitors. On peak days in this once-quiet town, visitors fill the sidewalks, and the street traffic slows to nearly a crawl.

At Baileys 57, Baumann, the managing partner in the business, keeps declaring that things can’t get any busier in the town, but her prediction continues to be dead wrong.

“Every year, it increasingly gets better and better,” she said. “Our business didn’t even see a slowdown during COVID. It just kept getting busier and busier.”

Economic Changes

The story of Baileys Harbor’s boom is a story that’s not just about growth, it’s about a changed economy. In fact, years ago, the town boasted a lot of businesses that no longer exist.

“It used to be a working man’s town,” said Gary Nelson, who has lived in Baileys Harbor for all of his 70 years.

“We used to have five gas stations,” Nelson said. “We used to have multiple car repair businesses; we had a feed mill; we had a school; we had two grocery stores, two hardware stores, a barber shop and a beauty parlor.”

As a boy, Nelson had a paper route. Every house in Baileys Harbor was occupied by residents, and Nelson knew pretty much every homeowner in town.

“Now those houses have turned into vacation rentals by owners, and we have a lot of places to eat and drink and fun activities,” he said.

As an adult, he owned Nelson Shopping Center, which was a fixture in Baileys Harbor for more than 70 years.

Nelson decided to close his Baileys Harbor location in 2016, and in 2021 town residents voted to purchase the property to create a waterfront park. Nelson isn’t sure that he prefers the old Baileys Harbor to the new Baileys Harbor – he just considers them different eras. He said the economy today is focused more singularly on tourism.

“[Many of] the businesses have just gone away or turned into businesses that the locals don’t really use,” he said. “We can rent kayaks, buy candy and gifts, and we still have a good auto repair place and a gas station that does a good job of supplying the basic food needs. But things are changing here. Is it for the better? I don’t know.”

Suzanne Bauldry was literally born in Baileys Harbor in 1942. Doctors still made house calls to deliver babies when Bauldry entered the world. She grew up in what she considers an idyllic world, a time when the town’s kids roamed free with little supervision.

Commerce was different in those years. In the days before refrigeration was common in Baileys Harbor, men cut large chunks of lake ice and packed it away in an ice house that was located on the Baileys Harbor waterfront. When parents weren’t looking, it became a playground for local kids.

“It was magical,” Bauldry recalled.

Changes in Travel

Tourism was also a big deal in Bauldry’s early days, but it looked a little different. Some Baileys Harbor tourists stayed in large lodges or resorts, and many others stayed in uninsulated cabins – no heat was required because the season ended long before frosty weather arrived.

“The season started on Memorial Day and ended on Labor Day,” Bauldry said. “It was like a rush of lemmings out.”

Bauldry said that over a period of years, there was a shift in Door County tourism and places like Egg Harbor, and Sister Bay gained more visitors than Baileys Harbor. She said that as those places have become more crowded, some travelers are looking for an alternative.

“Baileys Harbor was considered the ‘quiet side,’” she said. “But we have suddenly become the place that people want to visit. In the last 10 years, we’ve had nonstop traffic.”

If you haven’t been to Baileys Harbor for a while, you’re in for a surprise. It has become a place with locally brewed beer and inventive food trucks, wellcrafted lattes and open-air dining. The new crowds include a lot of younger travelers, so entrepreneurs have seen opportunity in this lakefront town.

When many of them arrived in Baileys Harbor – long home to some of the county’s most beloved businesses and restaurants – they saw a town with a big upside, as well as available business space.

Restaurateur Paul Salm, for example, said that when he purchased the Cornerstone Pub Bar & Grill in 2010, other entrepreneurs were also seizing opportunities in Baileys Harbor because similar opportunities were harder to find in other communities.

“[Baileys Harbor] was the only thing that was attainable,” he said. “Everything else was completely off the table.”

Salm said that many of the businesses also brought progressive values and practices, such as locally produced food, and the new ventures were well received.

“We became like a cool neighborhood in a big city,” he said. “There were a lot of energetic people with energetic ideas who slowly got into town, and it all sort of jived. And, all of a sudden, this sleepy town became like a vibrant neighborhood.”

The past two decades have brought a steady influx of new and expanding businesses, including the Harbor Fish Market & Grille, which opened in 1999 in a historical former tavern and dance hall. More businesses followed: Nathan Nichols & Company, Chives Door County and Door County Brewing Co. The Baileys 57 gas station expanded with new food, grocery and deli options.

JR Schoenfeld opened Chives in 2014. He said he located the business in Baileys Harbor in part because it wasn’t that busy. At the time, he was seeking a little more free time in his life.

“I looked at the town, and it was a nice town – kind of sleepy,” he said.

To Schoenfeld’s surprise, Baileys Harbor did not stay that way for long.

“I’ve grown year after year, and it’s been nonstop,” he said. “There are now so many more people here, and more and more people are here year-round. It’s not a sleepy place at all.”

Businesses have both benefited from and fueled the town’s growth. Schoenfeld’s restaurant, Chives, is

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A 1945 Ford truck run by Harbor Pizza now turns out pizzas from a wood-fired stove that was imported from Italy. Nearby, a 1947 Ford logging truck run by Grill & Griddle serves French fries, burgers and sandwiches. Above it all, bartenders serve guests artisan cocktails.

It’s been a fun run for Schoenfeld, who never imagined the town’s rapid trajectory and how many more people would discover the area.

He said part of that trend is related to a surge in short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb properties. During the pandemic, even more people visited, stayed and fell in love with Door County in general and Baileys Harbor specifically.

“They knew it existed, but they didn’t know it had the charm, the culture and the restaurants that it has,” Schoenfeld said.

Baumann said all of Door County is going through a big surge in tourism.

“The advertising out there has brought more and more people in,” she said. “It’s a destination place – I feel like we’re going to be the new Wisconsin Dells of the north. As a local, I don’t want that happening as much because I love the tranquility of Door County, and I want it to be the way it’s always been. But business wise, it’s great.”

Baumann said she’s seeing a younger crowd of tourists in town – a trend that coincided with the arrival of the Door County Brewing Co.

“That was the start of many younger people coming in, and the start of a lot of local businesses changing to fit that clientele,” she said.

The new energy in Baileys Harbor hasn’t been limited only to businesses. Although the town has always had stunning natural beauty, some of its well-known outdoor attractions have also had an increasing appeal for visitors. Baileys Harbor’s maritime amenities, for instance, improved significantly in 2000 with the construction of its marina, so it’s now a safe harbor serving recreational boaters as well as commercial fishermen.

The Ridges Sanctuary, a 1,600-acre preserve that dates to 1937, opened a 7,400-square-foot nature center in 2015 that’s become a beautiful gateway to the preserve and houses interpretive displays detailing The Ridges’ precious wildflowers, plants and animals.

Even Cana Island – one of Door County’s oldest, most photographed and iconic sights – is up to new things after the lighthouse recently underwent a major facelift. Its house and tower reopened in August after a 13-year project to preserve and protect the 153-year-old structure. For the first time in nearly a decade, the observation deck is open, and improvements continue in its displays and welcome center below.

During the 2022 season, Cana Island saw between 45,000 and 50,000 visitors, even though some areas were closed for renovation.

“[Attendance] is growing, and it’s continuing to grow over the years,” said Sam Perlman, deputy director of the Door County Maritime Museum and Lighthouse Preservation Society and Town of Baileys Harbor resident. “There are new visitors who have never been to Cana Island before, and folks who come to Cana every year because it’s part of their Door County experience, and their trip would not be complete without climbing the steps of the Cana Island Lighthouse.”

Although it’s easy to see that Baileys Harbor is now much busier with visitors, its permanent population also has grown at a steady rate despite the conversion of homes into vacation rentals. According to annual population estimates from the state’s Department of Administration, the town’s population stood at 1,238 in 2023; up from 1,030 two decades ago.

As the town grows, affordable housing –including housing for the workforce – is a significant issue.

“It’s not just Baileys Harbor, it’s [communities] across the board,” said Brandon Robinson, assistant director

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• Real Estate, Development and Leasing of the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission. “Places need workers, but these workers have a difficult time finding a place to live, and they have to commute a much longer distance because it’s not affordable to live in these places.”

Robinson said there are two sides to the mass tourism experienced by places such as Baileys Harbor. Visitors’ spending clearly benefits communities and residents, but it also can lead to overcrowding, congestion, a larger demand for infrastructure projects, and a greater need for environmental stewardship.

“Tourism obviously drives Door County, but with that, you have to find a balance,” Robinson said. “That can be the difficult part: taking a look at the balance of tourism and visitation growth [versus] the protection of the coastal resources and natural resources that draw people into Door County – the vast environmental features and the quaint shops.”

Bauldry said the town needs to ensure that it protects its historic charm and character.

“We’re trying really hard,” she said. Salm said the uniqueness of Baileys Harbor’s environment has helped to fuel its success. The town has one of the best waterfront views around, a cool lake breeze and fresh opportunities for active water sports.

But he said the town is also defined by the personalities of its residents. He said there’s a throwback quality to Baileys Harbor that visitors respond to. The restaurant’s owner just might be bussing your table, and she or he might even have a few colorful stories to share.

“That doesn’t happen in other places anymore,” Salm said. “People just fall in love with the local people in Baileys Harbor. They are searching for local culture, and they want to be part of the local lore and explore the town. People latch on to that, and they want to experience that.”