WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – For businesses in tourism areas, Independence Day has turned into a busy four-day weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • Small businesses have had a big boom over the 4th of July long weekend

  • For some, it's the busiest they've been since before the pandemic began

  • People waited over an hour in line for ice cream 

AAA officials estimated one million Wisconsinites would hit the road for the holiday weekend, more than ever before.

In Wisconsin Dells, the traffic alone can signal how slammed the area is with visitors.

Candy Kitchen has 128 flavors of homemade popcorn under the label Kernel Popcorn’s. 

“This weekend has been swamped all weekend,” Eric Hulse said. “Lines out the door for hours to get ice cream.”

“This year has been really crazy,” Hulse said.

Sometimes Candy Kitchen can have up to two dozen people sampling popcorn at the same time. Many of them are repeat customers who come every year.

Small businesses have been through a rollercoaster since March 2020. However, this year looks more like the average summer for many of them. It may turn out to be even better than average.

“For generations now, I’ve had people coming and bringing their kids, because they came here to get popcorn when they were kids,” Hulse said.

It’s a relief for business owners to know the rest of the summer may be great for them.

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