Warsaw and the surrounding area were extremely busy over the Labor Day weekend as great weather, as well as a number of activities, brought in large crowds to the Twin Lake area.
Out at Beyonder Marina at Sterett Creek, it was an extremely busy weekend.
“All the boats and boat slips were rented and the campground and motel were full,” said Beyonder employee Kathy Barbeau. “The docks were full on Saturday and Sunday nights with visitors listening to music and enjoying food from the Drunken Minnow.”
Barbeau reported that all 36 new RV spots were filled over the weekend as well as the 40 room motel, guest house and apartment.
Opening this season at Beyonder is the new restaurant “Chompy’s” located in the building across the parking lot from the marina. Chompy’s offers breakfast and lunch from 6:00 AM until 2:00 PM on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Barbeau reported that this season had been a very busy one and that there is still plenty of time to enjoy the lake before the end of the season on November 15.
Beth Drake at Osage Mini-Mart reported that her store was busy all weekend as well.
“Having the rodeo on Labor Day weekend brought extra business to us,” said Drake. “Most of our traffic was family oriented, but we also sold a lot of minnows to those coming to fish.”
Drake reported that this summer had been a good one but that most of the traffic was from Kansas City and the surrounding area.
“The price of gas may have kept some people from venturing too far from home,” said Drake.
“We are expecting a good fall as Heritage Days always brings in a large crowd,” said Drake.
At Osage Bluff Marina, Jason Reynolds reported a great weekend.
“We had a very busy weekend with the motel full and the restaurant also busy,” he said.
The Reynolds family has been operating Osage Bluff since 1982 and are known for their Fourth of July fireworks display.
“Our show this year was the biggest we have ever had,” said Reynolds. “We added to our show this year in honor of my mother, Emily Reynolds, and the turnout was phenomenal. The lake surrounding Osage Bluff was full of boats and there were cars parking along the road all the way to the highway.”
Osage Bluff hours are 7:0 AM to 2:30 PM during the week and 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Friday and Saturday and 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Closing date for the season is the first week of November.
At Sonic, manager Dustin Deckard, said his car hops were busy all weekend. “
"We probably served over a thousand Route 44 drinks,” said Deckard. “We have had a great season.”
Todd Griffin, owner of Hilltop BBQ, reported a great season as well.
“We had standing room only on Friday and Saturday,” said Griffin. “We probably served over 100 slabs of ribs in addition to our many other entries.”
Todd and April Griffin have been operating Hilltop for the past 25 years.
Out at Rick’s Oar House on the Lake of the Ozarks, business was good all three days of the holiday weekend.
“Sunday was our biggest single day all summer,” said owner Rick Renno. “Our gas sales were more than anticipated and we were very close to running out of gasoline.”
Rick’s Oar House will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM until October 26.
G&W Country Market was hopping all weekend as well. Manager Kerry Wise said that the customer count for the summer has been above average and that Friday was the biggest day at G&W.
“We have had a good summer and the weather was great for Labor Day weekend,” said Wise. “Sales were up dramatically.”
Heritage Days will be October 19-20 which will bring another big crowd to the Twin Lake area.
