Lonz Winery collapse had major effect on island business

When the Lonz Winery went away, so did Middle Bass Island's large crowds.

Since then, owners of the island's main attractions have tried to keep adding features, hoping to bring some of those visitors back.

Ever since Lonz closed, "it's been difficult to get people to get on a boat and get over here," said Ed Gudenas, owner of St. Hazards Waterfront Resort on Middle Bass.

"It was a catastrophe financially here," he said.

"The only reason most people came to Middle Bass was because of Lonz."

Other island businesses also benefited from the large number of people who came to Lonz.

The Sonny-S, a ferry boat that runs from Put-in-Bay to Middle Bass Island, ran every 15 minutes when Lonz was open, said John Schneider, who owns the boat.

"When the winery was open, it was thousands on the weekend," he said of the number of visitors.

Gudenas said he feels driven to make new investments at St. Hazards to give people an incentive to visit the island.

He opened a beach bar this year called Saints and Sinners, with a grand opening scheduled for this weekend.

The beach is too rocky to swim, but St. Hazards has done its best to create a resort atmosphere, planting more than 30 palm trees on the beach and elsewhere at the resort.

"The moon most of the summer rises right up over the lake," Gudenas said.

Gudenas spent a month in Bali, where he bought a wooden pavilion that was made there and shipped to Middle Bass so he could feature it near his Caribbean-themed beach bar.

Bali is where he also found a 16-foot carved wooden crocodile stands guard over the island's only swimming pool.

Expansion and improvements have also been the theme at Middle Bass' other major attraction, J.F. Walleyes Microbrewery and Sports Bar, which has endured dramatic struggles since opening in 1998.

Lonz collapsed in 2000 and then J.F. Walleyes burned down in 2002. The microbrewery and bar reopened in 2003.

"When we bought the bar, it employed four people," co-owner Chris Zeitler said.

At the height of the season, J.F. Walleyes employs 25 people.

The most recent improvement at J.F. Walleyes is a blue lagoon wading pool, with a waterfall people can walk under to cool off.

Entertainment is offered in the evenings.

"We have a great sunset every night," Zeitler said.

While both businesses try their best to provide an atmosphere thick with good times, Middle Bass tends to attract fewer young people, who usually head to Put-in-Bay.

"We like to say this is an island more for families," Zeitler said.

"It's mostly kind of an older crowd, people in their 40s and 50s," said J.F. Walleyes waiter Justin Bartels, 20, a Milwaukee resident whose grandparents, Martin and Linda Dieperink, are full-time residents of the island. "You don't get too many of the college-type people."

Curiosity inspires some members in the large crowds of Put-in-Bay to take brief ferry rides across the water to Middle Bass, said Nick Hovsepian, 22, a deckhand on the Sonny-S.

"We'll have people who have gone to every bar in Put-in-Bay," he said.

The owners of St. Hazards and Walleyes said they depend on tourists for most of their traffic, although they get substantial business from local residents, too.

"During the season, Friday night is known to be a locals night," Zeitler said.

Getting the tourists to Walleyes isn't left to chance.

"We go and meet all the boats and give people a ride," Zeitler said. "We crank the tunes. ...It's truly a party bus."