Just drove into Marquette last night. Was planning to bring a group of five us up to the Thunder Bay for the wonderful pizza, the warm, friendly atomosphere in a place like none other. I extend a warm thank you for the many good memories my family has had over the years enjoying the most enjoyable place to eat in the U.P.

That right it's time to recalibrate our thinking. We need Job's Prosperity, and a future for our children and safe waters. We can use every ones help, put you energy in solving the problen instead of being the problem.

We used to stay at the Thunder Bird Inn. The last few years we have been unable to ride our Sleds Through Lanse to get up there. This year we have plenty of Snow in Wisconsin and have only traveled to the UP twice this Winter. The Gas price has not been a factor for us. We spent our Winter Vacation riding in Idaho.

I also heard the Restaurant in Sidnaw closed. We always stopped and ate there. Snowmobiles have been a winter income for many that may never return to levels of the past. Fuel and the high cost of operating them has taken a toll on everyone.

As a old Customer, the Mine or Mines I am reading about have nothing to do with me not being in Big Bay lately. In fact I enjoy looking at Mines and the Towns that prospered when they were operating.

I feel sorry for people trying to make a living in the UP and hope something happens soon because Eco Tourists and Tourism will not pay off and keep the UP economically alive.

If the mines were up and running this wouldn't happen. So I can't wait for the mines to open, with trucks rumbling up and down the big bay road, and slag laying along the roadways. Then a dozen more places can begin mining up there too, and this will bring jobs, jobs, jobs...and next thing you know lots of people will move there and schools will have more funding and stores and fuel stations will make more money and it will be one big happy place for everything, except for tourists who won't be heading there. Then in 8 years, when the mines go away, don't forget to leave lots of toilet paper around so that everyone will understand the place is wasted ...forever.

Thank you, Audrey, for your posting and for bringing some clarity and sanity to the issue. Please thank your parents for us for the time, effort and money they invested in the TBI. It truly is a Yooper landmark and we hate to see it close. All my best to you and yours.

By the way, I know many of the previous postings might lead you to believe otherwise, but we aren't all conspiracy theorists here in the U.P. Oh, we have our share...maybe disprportionately so, but most folks are pretty harmless and harbor only the best of intentions. Most...

Why don't we all get along the miners doing their thing, and the hippies theirs.

I am the daughter of the owners of the Thunder Bay Inn and I am writing to put some closure to this story. The closing of the Hotel was strickly due to the economic conditions in Big Bay. It had nothing to do with the mine going in up there. Kennecott did not offer to buy the building. Tourism is down up there and has been for a few years now. The Thunder Bay Inn was a huge establishment and with that comes overhead. There simply wasnt enought revenue coming in to keep the business running. I can tell all the people in the UP and surrounding aeas that loved the Thunder Bay Inn that my parents did the best they could and the choice to close their doors did not come easily. They were as sad as all of you to let it go. My parents are fantastic people and they do not deserve to be put under a microscope. I hope this brings some clearity to the situation and I hope that even though you may not agree with the disicion you wish them the best for the future.

I will miss Thunder Bay Inn.
I do truly hope this isn't a case of Kennecott getting in the mix to buy out the building for their own uses, now that would truly be adding insult to a very flawed project to begin with.

Mad Dog,
who's doing the branding here? "eco" misfits?

Upon further reading of the responses,
Interesting post on the recreational groups who frequented the Yellow Dog Plains for peace and solitude who will now be looking for alternatives due to the mining projects. You can put me in this group. I can't see driving eight hours+ to get to Marquette County, then having to worry if what I last knew as seasonal roads are now full of mining trucks, and fenced off public lands that I used to recreate on.

Their is alot of blame to go around. First their is Henery Ford and the Huron Mountain Club that stopped M-35 during the 1930s. That made Big Bay the town at the end of the road. Then their is the opposition to the mine. If you support the mine you are branded an outlaw and outcast. Who wants to drive 30 miles with the price of gas rising to get Harassed by these eco misfits that spread fear and drive a stake into the heart of the community.

We will really miss the fun, friendship, and fellowship we have come to know and love from inside those doors of the Thunder Bay Inn. We have a place in Big Bay, and look forward to our visits there, and always end up in the Thunder Bay. Those two (owners of the Thunder Bay) literally gave it their ALL for every person that entered thru that door. Big Bay Business has lost two of the hardest working folks you could ever have. Big Bay will just not be the same without the Thunder Bay Inn! However, the economic conditions are knocking on every door in America in one way or another. GOOD-BYE THUNDER BAY!

Someone said they didn't want to pay the gas to get there and back. Is that cheap or what? I went to California in january to see my brother and it cost almost 2 grand for gas. and I don't even like him too much. I'll miss this place.

Hey Mike,
Maybe Kennecott will buy the ThunderBay Inn and you can eat some Fish from the Deer lake Basin. When it's cold out,hold it upby the tail and wait till the mercury drops! You seem to like to comment on a few reports for TV6..I myself don't see any long term growth potential to Big Bay or our U.P economy from a short term enviromentalist rape firm. Look at what has happened in W. Virginia with the coal mines. The Only way we can all come out of this Global Market is to do our part in Consevation. If this means staying home to eat my well needed dinner than that be it. If we all don't try to do our part...We all will be wanting more mines and their disruction

Has anyone thought that perhaps the owners have been made an offer for the building by the mining company? They would probably like to set up offices there. So perhaps we lose jobs!!!! And a good place to eat.

Hoping this story isn't true---- the website is running as though they are still open for business.....

I really liked Thunder Bay Inn, but I have to agree, gas prices have cut out trips for me on the weekends and that includes cruising up to Big Bay for a bite at TBI.

As far as Deer Lake goes, there's nothing like the lure of "Danger" "Mercury Contamination" "Fish Unfit for Human Consumption" signs posted all around the lake to get me to want to visit that lake. Are you kidding me?

Mercury poisoning does skew one's ability to think straight...

My family and myself continue to have lots of good, personal memories of Big Bay and environs...My dad, Howard C. Treado, 1902-72 (NMU '24), taught school there for several years in the mid-1920's; around that time, Henry Ford most likely created that building (and other Big Bay houses,too) later known as the "Thunder Bay Inn" when he included Big Bay in his multi-County ownership of UP forestland/lumber mills of the those early years in Marquette and Baraga Counties. I recall buying our Springer Spaniel pup in 1948 from the infamous Mike Chenoweth...seeing a bear and deer strapped to the fenders of a 1946 Oldsmobile during hunting season; playing ice hockey on an outdoor rink (the tennis courts, Big Bay) with Emerson Fleury, circa 1954; waterskiing and swimming at Cram's dam on Lake Independance, July 4th, 1957 with Sonny Thoren--and logger Hi Cram (the elder), always with his smile, jokes and easy-going manner. And Bay Cliff; later, Emerson Fleury living at the abandoned, old Ford Mill/Brunswick site and smokestack, where the interior living area ceilings were low--but OK for someone shorter than myself, like Emerson...also: Dr. Pick from Chicago and his saving and costly re-furbishment/preservation of the Big Bay Lighthouse in the 1960's; and then the important development of a "harbor of refuge"/marina on Lake Superior; Also D. Small's restoration and operation of the Thunder Bay Inn--which was the gathering place for locals and visitors...difficult to do, even harder to maintain (for years) that kind of dedication.
So, here we are. What's next? I suggest some partners and those folks really interested in bringing in those other friends who would support its future existence and purpose. I might suggest some of those Yoopers who've left the UP and now "want back into" some simple living, but also some work as well.
At least it's not as difficult a job as what D. Small had to deal with back when he took over--which I guess was circa mid-1980's?
Food for thought...

So Mr. Holmgren from Ishpeming, if Deer Lake has the most tourism in the U.P. and you live so close, why don't you go and promote tourism to other areas of the U.P. as well? Help out the rest of us by promoting lakes and forests throughout the U.P. rather than promoting a job in a mine that you don't need.

I find it interesting that a contaminated lake is also, according to your stats, the most attractive to tourism. I'm sure Big Bay would love the visitors if you sent some of these Deer Lake tourists their way.

Also just curious, so does that mean when the mine is up and running they are going to be sending checks to the Thunder Bay Inn? Workers won't be staying at an Inn, they'll buy cheap houses or rent apts for the 5 years the mine will be running. Not sure how they are going to help the Thunder Bay get back on its feet.

We looked forward to the food and drink at the inn on our snowmobile trips to Big Bay and the Plains.

In recreational circles,rumor is out on these proposed mine sites. Tourists such as myself are already looking to alternative destinations where we will be ensured solitude, unspoiled nature and a true wilderness experience in exchange for our hard earned dollars. We don't want to be competing with hauling trucks, mines, industrial sites. Looks like Kennecott is already having an adverse affect on Big Bay. Sorry, Thunder Bay Inn.

Good thing I will go another direction on my snowmobile trip tomorrow. What a disappointment it would have been to get all the way up there and not even be able to have lunch

Properties along the 510 road will be devastated by the continuous and noisy traffic of trucks from the mining operation. Life in Big Bay will not be enhanced by sulfide mining instead the quality will be debased. A very few select individuals will (as usual) profit from the mining operations. In the meanwhile the continual risk of serious,irreparable contamination will be ever present. The pollution of streams and possibibly Lake Superior is a prospect that should alarm all. Instead a few vocal proponents to drilling look to line their pockets to the determent of many! Selfishness and greed is not a family value! The unfortunate closing of the historic Big Bay Hotel may be just the tip of the ice berg as far as economic woes to Big Bay go.

I do hope another owner can succeed in reopening this great place in Big Bay- loved the burgers and waffle fries they had.

Now, as far as the pro mine agenda goes in stating a mercury filled Deer Lake draws more tourists than any other inland lake in the UP,rofl, chalk this up as another example of the rediculous arguments being made by the pro sulfide mine minority.

So, if Mike Holmgren (same as Rolly Holmgren?) thinks that Deer Lake gets more "tourist draw" (than any other inland UP lake) to enjoy it's past Ropes' mining "mercury contamination" of at least the last two decades--I guess Mike doesn't swim in, eat fish from it, or drink from that lake...that's good.
How about Lake Michigamme? Much better spot, with an excellent long-term (60 years!) VanRiper State Park at its east end, with fishing, swimming and camping--plus hundreds of people and visitors living on and enjoying that lake, too, year-round. (Fortunately, it didn't have the infamous Ropes Mine to contaminate it, like Deer Lake)--even though Lake Michigamme has had conventional iron ore mining, historically, nearby, both in Champion and Michigamme.
So, I wonder where Mike gets his statistics...?
Frankly, enjoy Deer Lake as best you can.
I think the rest of us prefer our wells, watersheds, rivers and lakes that are not polluted--at present and in the future!

High gas prices are what is killing Big Bay. I can personally speak for myself that we have made many trips to Big bay in the past but are now doing it much less often due to the cost of gas. I have enjoyed many meals at the Inn and am very sorry to see it close along with other businesses in Big Bay. Any mine cannot change this fact.

It is sad to see the Thunder Bay Inn closing down. A historic icon with excellent food.

Now where are all the employees from Kennecott working on the mines going to stay? Because you know they are handing you a warm plate of poo poo if you believe they will hire local. They will bring in their own temporary workers, trash the place then leave just like a rockband in a hotel.

Since when does Deer Lake get that much tourism? I see a few locals fish there but that's about it. And you can't eat the fish! Hello! This will happen up in the Big Bay area too. Wake up and eat your fries before they get cold, and they never taste any good after you reheat them.

Speaking for myself, I am gainfully employed and have no desire seeking employment any place else. Now, 1.5 miles from my doorstep is Deer Lake. Deer Lake has been contaminated with Mercury for better than 20 years. On any given day Deer Lake draws more tourism than any other lake in uppermichigan exept for the great lakes. For the past 2 years people opposed to the Kennecott mine have stated that it would drive tourists away from the area and that communities such as Big Bay depend on tourism to stay alive. Well, business's in Big Bay are closing one after the other, so the theory about tourism in this area and it's vital economic impact is full of holes, in fact, it's blown right out of the water. The sooner the Eagle Project is operational the better, it will bring much needed revenue to the area including Big Bay.

maybe they could buy the Thunder Bay Inn as a show of communtity pride and thanks, since they will be extracting billions of dollars of resources off of the area's public lands.

ok so as unfortunate as this story is, I'm simply amazed how some of you can turn it into "bring on the mining jobs". two totally different things here. i'm getting pretty annoyed with the same people commenting on this site about the mining jobs. just because you are unemployed and need a job so bad, stop advocating for the stupid mine jobs and focus on some other problems for a change. i'm sick of the same people turning almost every story into something about jobs at the mine. why don't you go work on an oil rig if you need that type of job so bad.
as for tourism, it comes and goes. just the way of the world. I hope the thunder bay inn can open back up soon.

I didn't think it was modern enough to stay in either... after a long day of hiking the trails and swimming in the freeeezing(!!) water up there, it's nice to have all the creature comforts in your room. There are so many brand new places in Marquette, it's definately not too far to for me to drive to have it all when I'm that worn out. I really dig the amazing little restaurant in the gas station in Big Bay though, I always hit it up for some grub before I leave town!

Running any business in Big Bay is difficult, but not impossible. (Earlier, Darrel Small and his wife did a great job operating the Thunder Bay Inn for nearly two decades! But it's not an easy job.)
Let's look at the real problems in America--$6 trillion spent in Afghanistan and Iraq in six years; gasoline now at nearly $3.50 per gallon, propane and heating oil prices also through the roof; therefore, food prices up also due to gasoline for farming and transportation costs. (Kennecott is not planning to drill for oil, right?!)
Thanks to NAFTA and poor managment decisions at the Detroit automakers, 200,000 skilled workers lost their jobs just in Ohio in the past seven years; ditto, most likely, for most skilled workers in Michigan and Wisconsin. These folks are our main tourism base, within driving distance to many parts of the UP, including Marquette County.
It's interesting to note that recreational tourism is still an important factor in year-round visitors who spend money in the UP. But due to the serious and continuing 'economic downturn' (actually, we're already in a recession) in the USA, the UP and Michigan are not the only areas impacted by this disaster. One thing will still have left, and will draw visitors back, is our natural resources--and here I am referring to the beauty and relatively fine outdoor offerings--not new metallic sufide mining sites, potential uranium pollution, etc. Those economic benefits are short-lived, and then we're left with the costly clean-up that will be litigated for decades before its done--and also the loss of tourist interest in coming here and their dollars as well.
Hopefully, this year's elections can turn some things around. We need some big changes in how our country is run, where are taxes have gone, that war brings inflation and serious national debt, and our present trade deficits with Asia, etc.
Don't blame the "tree-huggers"--blame Bush and Cheney.

As if a sulfide mine would bring tourists to Big Bay . All the people for this mine don't live anywhere near it . Certainly not in Big Bay . The only thing that mine will bring is grief .

I would think with all the protest for the kennicott mine. the protesters would be in a position to save a big bay Icon.
quit hugging trees!! let the mine build jobs in the area!!!!!

Noticed a small gas station that had closed it's doors in Big Bay this past summer. Now the thunder bay inn is closing. So much for the theory of tourism bringing money to this area, let the mining begin!!

I found it very hard to believe that
the owners didn't know that they were
going to close until the last minute.
I hope (at least) they were decent
enough to offer their workers some
sort of compensation package so that
they wouldn't be caught holding the bag.
Big Bay is nice but the Inn obviously
couldn't offer anything that would motivate
most people to stay overnight.
Did they offer entertainment? Perhaps if
they offered some incentives to those
staying there then they might still be open.
Regardless..someone with the business sense
will see the value of this establishment and
offer something new. The Inn should have been
a focal point for the community - Oh well.

And people in Big Bay are opposed to this mine? Business's are closing one after the other. I wonder how many tourists Big Bay will draw when they can no longer get a hot burger?

An interested and wealthy investor could own a historic landmark, get great press and look like a hero to Big Bay.