Maureen and Michael O’Phelan outside Cascade Lodge & Restaurant on June 9, when they held an open house celebrating the 85th anniversary of their business. The O’Phelans bought Cascade in 2004. When they arrived here from other professions, Maureen as an attorney and Michael as an engineer, they experienced a few surprises but have positive things to say about the rewards of resort ownership.
Cascade Lodge owners Michael and Maureen O’Phelan celebrated the 85th anniversary of their business with an open house on June 9, which was attended by former owners Gene and Laurene Glader, former employees, community members, and guests. Gladers owned the business from 1981 to 2004 and O’Phelans have owned it since then.
Inside the lodge in the piano room overlooking Lake Superior, the O’Phelans and the Gladers reminisced with Marc and Melissa Breitsprecher of Grand Marais, who met there as employees back in the 1980s. They talked about the seemingly growing list of government regulations that cost the business money. Michael had to become a master plumber to fix things throughout the resort, which includes the lodge, the restaurant, and numerous cabins. Maureen, who runs the restaurant, said she had to become a certified food manager. They have state fire codes, state health codes, and federal regulations protecting the safety of their guests. This gets to be a bit overwhelming for a small business. After all, Melissa quipped, “there’s a certain risk to getting out of bed each morning.”
When asked what kinds of surprises they experienced along the way, Gene said, “I remember I used to know the answer to that.”
Marc, the former restaurant chef, said it was hard to keep enough staff on hand, especially when the summer ended. “The day after Labor Day was a nightmare,” he said. When Bill Thomas ran the kitchen, he said, he butchered his own meat, peeled his own potatoes, and made his own salad dressing from scratch, so the restaurant was labor-intensive.
Marc said he remembers there was always someone asking, “Is anyone going to town?”
Maureen said she has been surprised at how difficult it is to find enough employees. “If you want to work,” she said, “we have jobs.”
“I kind of had this idea that my main job would be to sit at a desk, open my big checkbook, and write out checks to the people who I was paying to work for me,” said Michael. Instead, he found himself digging at the bottom of his septic system.
“It’s like running a town,” Michael said. “You have to know everything about it. I have my kids call me Governor O’Phelan.”
What have they enjoyed most about owning the lodge? “You meet a lot of great people,” Michael said.
Maureen said she likes the variety in her work – in one day, she will write an ad for the newspaper, get ready to feed a group of 59 people, and clean a bunch of rooms.
“You never dare write a list of things to do,” Michael said, “because you’ll never get to the first thing on the list.”
Through the years, fall business has grown. October is busier than June now, Michael said. Maureen sometimes found herself trying to cover the entire dining room by herself in the fall because she couldn’t find enough staff. She put up a sign that said, “We only have one server. We are shorthanded on staff! Job applications are over there!”
The group laughed about flyby night employees who would get dropped off by bus and arrange to be picked up the next day.
“I like the people!” Maureen said. “It makes you see how small the world is.” She said she often finds connections with customers when she talks to them about people they know.
“This is a very special place where people can come up and enjoy their vacation and enjoy the location,” Gene said. “It’s very satisfying to meet that need.”
Michael said he enjoys seeing the repeat customers. After having a career as an engineer, he also loves planning and working on the infrastructure.
Marc told a story about working in the kitchen one day and spotting a bear looking down at him from a skylight over the grill. He went outside and yelled at the bear until it came down and ran off.
A week later, Marc found the bear in the Dumpster outside the restaurant. The bear popped his head out of the Dumpster and took a swipe at him, he said. Marc ran into the kitchen, grabbed a container of cayenne pepper, ran back to the Dumpster, and threw it in the bear’s face. The bear snorted like crazy, jumped out, ran up the hill, and never came back.
A little history of Cascade Lodge
In 1922 Edward Ogilvie purchased
the land on which the lodge is
located and began developing the
site for a resort to be called Cascade
Lodge. The lodge first opened its
doors to tourists back in the summer
of 1927. At that time there were three
log cabins and the main lodge for
guests.
The original lodge building stood for
at least 12 years on the site of what
is now the playground. This building
was subsequently torn down in
anticipation of the next building on
the current site.
The lodge managed to survive the
Depression. In 1933 the North Shore
highway became fully paved, making
it easier for tourists to make the trip
to the lodge. Lodging rates in 1938
were $2 to $3.50 per night.
The current lodge was built in two
phases. The east end was complete
in 1939, with the west end being
finished in 1957. The new lodge
featured steam heat and modern
bathrooms. Meals were served in
the main lodge until 1956 or ‘57. The
current restaurant building was built
in 1946-47 and operated as a coffee
shop, bar, gas station and dance hall
until the summer of 1956 or ‘57 when
the dining room was moved from
the main lodge to the restaurant
building.
Starting in 1935 the North Shore was
promoted as the “Hay Fever Haven
of America.” Tourism was primarily
a summer business until Lutsen
Mountains ski area opened in 1948.
This created winter business that is
still thriving today. In 1976 Cascade
Lodge developed a cross country
ski trail system and began renting
equipment.
Over the years, changes and
additions have been made, but
the focus has always remained
on providing a pleasant, friendly,
wholesome place in beautiful
surroundings.
The preceding information was taken from the Cascade Lodge website, cascadelodgemn.com. Former owner Eugene Glader wrote a book about the lodge entitled Cascade Lodge: The History of a North Shore Landmark.
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