Family Resorts

By Tenlee Lund
Photography by Rick Hammer

Guests catch them, Karen Springsteel
cleans them at Chippewa Lodge.
 

It’s a rare moment when resort
owners can stop for a group photo,
but our camera happened to find Tim,
Sue, Jeff, Warren, and Chris all in one
place at one time.
 

Granddaughter Alicia Niemi holds a
fish fit for mounting. The fish is
pictured mounted below.
 

 

The lure of Leech Lake keeps
guests coming back for more.
 

When you’re at a Lake Country resort, work should be the farthest thing from your mind. You’re there to relax, rejuvenate, and reconnect—with nature, with your family, and with yourself.

And it works. There’s just something about crisp pine-scented air, waves lapping sandy shores, and the magical call of loons . . . one woman slept so well during her stay at Grand Vu Lodge on Leech Lake that she bought the mattress right off the bed and took it home with her.

That’s just what the resort’s owner, Jeff Anderson, wants, since he’s in business to give his customers a memorable north woods experience.

During the past two decades, the Anderson family has increased its number of resorts on Leech Lake, bucking the downward trend in family resorts indicated by statewide statistics (see sidebar).

Since 1986, Warren and Linda Anderson have owned and run Northland Lodge on Leech Lake’s prime southern shore. Their sons, Jeff, Tim, and Chris, grew up in the business and have all gone on to purchase their own lake resorts. Tim and his wife, Sue, bought Spirit of the North in 1989. Jeff purchased Grand Vu in 1995 and Chris bought Anderson’s Cove a year later.

This trend has even spread beyond the immediate family. Two nieces, Karen Springsteel and Diane Prado, bought their own resorts—Chippewa Lodge and Traders Bay—in the late 1990s. A couple of teen-aged granddaughters work at the resorts, Courtney Niemi at Grand Vu and Alicia Niemi at Northland. And, as Tim and Sue’s children grow up, Tara and T.J. take on their share of tasks at Spirit of the North.

So how can the Anderson family continue to succeed in an industry that has stymied so many others? What is their secret?

After talking with them, the operative word seems to be “work.” Not just the elbow-grease kind, although there’s plenty of that to go around—but “work” in all its derivatives. They work together and help each other out. They work with the DNR and government officials to promote a healthy future for Leech Lake and its tourism businesses. They also work with the chamber of commerce and other organizations to keep the local economy strong and vibrant.

“We’re very active in the community,” says Warren. “We don’t just sit back and let the world go by. We’re always involved to make sure Leech Lake is out in the forefront of what’s going on.“

“This resort business is very, very successful,” he explains, not only from an investment perspective, but also as a viable ongoing business. He says the first year is the toughest, because that’s when expenses are highest but, as time goes on, the business builds and the expenses level off.

“It’s not like a shoe store where, when you sell a pair of shoes, you have to buy another pair at whatever the going price is,” says Warren. “The spread keeps getting bigger and bigger on a resort. It’s really a unique and profitable business.”

One way to keep it successful is through satisfied customers, those regular guests who return year after year and tell their friends and family about the wonderful time they had. The resorters constantly upgrade their places to present a fresh face—along with the familiar atmosphere—to their repeat customers. Through a combination of big and small projects, they do what is necessary to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations

For example, over the years cabins have gotten larger, from one and two bedrooms to three and four bedrooms. Another trend is “family reunion cabins,” where groups of up to twenty can stay in the same building. The lodging choices at the Andersons’ resorts have expanded accordingly.

Tim says a lot of the ideas for improvements actually come from the guests themselves—for dishwashers, whirlpool tubs, or fireplaces. “It really doesn’t matter to the fishermen, but to the families and the couples, the little things really mean a lot.“

“You can’t just sit back and take the profits. You have to put the money back into the business.” He and Sue have a long-term plan for their resort, “and we try to keep working toward those goals.“

Chris remembers one year when, after working all summer, he found himself wanting to relax and take the winter off. He laughs, remembering that, instead, he put porches on two of his cabins. Although he didn’t have the money budgeted, he “tightened his belt” and completed the projects because he knew the upgrades would pay off in the coming seasons.

Warren uses Anderson’s Cove as a good example of planning and vision. Chris started with a small campground and seasonal RV sites. Then he analyzed his business, gradually added cabins, expanded the RV area, and created mobile home sites in the back. “It was a step-by-step process,” says Warren. “Chris didn’t just go out and borrow a million dollars and say, ‘I hope this works.“

Jeff adds, “You’ve got to balance it.” Although a cabin can often make in a week what an RV site earns in a year, expansion needs to be measured. “If you get too big you start to lose your personality.“

But even with the best planning, there can be setbacks. One year, a late-season fire at Northland Lodge destroyed a cabin. Family members postponed some projects planned at their resorts and worked together to rebuild the cabin during the off-season.

Building projects like these require a good relationship with the banker—and with local government officials. At one time, Cass County zoning ordinances required resorts to follow the same setbacks and density regulations as residential properties. That meant that, if one of Jeff’s prime cabins, which is twenty-five feet from the water’s edge, was destroyed, he would not be allowed to rebuild it.

Warren says, “We spent almost two solid years working with our county and the zoning people to actually change the resorts’ classification so they are almost a special commodity.“ With the new rules, Jeff could rebuild on the same footprint but, if he adds a new cabin, it has to be seventy-five feet back.

When Tim bought his resort, it had a thirty-foot bank that was continually eroding. With the help of county authorities, he gained permission to install rip-rap, which protects the bank and “made a tremendous difference in the resort.“

When Jeff needed a harbor to protect his boats and provide a safer place for his guests, he consulted the DNR. Chris did the same to seek guidance when low water levels and an influx of wild rice threatened his bay and swimming area.

And then there were the cormorants, which virtually wiped out the spring fishing season on Leech Lake for several years. Tim says an economic study showed that the Walker area lost some $2 million every spring the fishing was bad.

“That’s been one of the biggest hardships we’ve had in the nineteen years we’ve had the resort,” he says. “We’ve built up the cabins to where we think we’ve got some of the nicest places in the state. Then to have them sitting empty because the fishing isn’t there, it’s a real tough pill to swallow.“

Warren started contacting the DNR about the cormorants almost ten years ago. It’s been a constant effort ever since. “We won’t back off on things like this,” he says. “If we had, Leech would be a dead lake.“

But it’s not. The fishing remained good in many areas of the lake despite the cormorants and it’s coming back nicely elsewhere. And the Anderson resorts are thriving right along with the fishing.

Minnesota’s family resorts are more than mere businesses. They represent part of the state’s heritage, dating back some one hundred fifty years. They offer visitors a slice of idyllic north woods life, even if it’s only a week or two at a time.

As one of Tim’s guests said, “There aren’t very many resorts like this left. For most of us who can’t afford a lake home, this is our only opportunity to stay at the lake and have the dream.“

So when you visit Lake Country, get to know the family behind that family resort. You may never realize that there’s any work involved at all—and that’s the point. They do all the work so you don’t have to.