A day at Presque Isle should be easy to enjoy. For a family spending the afternoon at the beach, that includes knowing whether an affordable lunch, a cold drink, or something for the kids will be available nearby.
As Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources develops a new master plan for the Presque Isle State Park Complex, reliable food service deserves explicit consideration. The planning process gives Erie an opportunity to ask what visitors need, what the park can responsibly accommodate, and how local businesses can help.
Fixed-site beach concessions belong in that conversation.
My business partner, Shawn Mahoney, and I are developing Gateway Concessions of Presque Isle to pursue that opportunity. Shawn is a disabled veteran and the company’s majority owner. We have a direct business interest in restoring permanent concessions, and readers deserve to know that.
Our proposal begins with a practical objective: reliable, affordable food service at appropriate beach locations, with predictable hours, accessible facilities, and opportunities for Erie-area suppliers and employees.
Swimmers and sunbathers visit Beach 6 on July 22, 2021, at Presque Isle State Park in Millcreek Township.
The public question is whether fixed-site concessions should be part of Presque Isle’s future — and what it would take to make them work.
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For visitors, consistency matters. A parent should be able to plan around published service hours. Someone with limited mobility should be able to understand where food is available and how to reach it. A visitor spending the day on the peninsula should have clear information about nearby choices.
Those are reasonable service expectations. They should help guide decisions about locations, facilities, menus, and operating requirements.
From 2024: Presque Isle State Park concession stands close
There is also an opportunity to bring more of Erie’s food identity into the park experience. Regional favorites, locally roasted coffee, frozen treats, and other Pennsylvania products could connect a beach visit with the businesses that help define our community. Dependable seasonal purchasing could create opportunities for suppliers, while concession operations could provide jobs and practical hospitality experience.
Those benefits must be demonstrated through actual purchasing, employment, and performance. They should be part of the evaluation from the beginning.
Restoring fixed-site service will require serious work. Appropriate sites must be identified. Water, wastewater, electricity, storage, deliveries, and accessible routes must be assessed. Responsibility for construction and maintenance must be clear. Operating terms must support affordable service while accounting for weather, seasonal demand, and the cost of staffing.
A sustainable operation needs both a public-service commitment and a workable business model. Ignoring either would set the effort up to disappoint.
Presque Isle’s conservation mission must guide that work. Any facilities proposal should be evaluated for its effects on habitat, shoreline conditions, waste management, traffic, and the character of the park. Environmental benefits should be supported by evidence and thoughtful design.
Photos: Presque Isle Lighthouse
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Michael Sullivan, at left, executive director of the Presque Isle Lighthouse, shows off the new welcome center on April 16, 2018, which is located in a former garage adjacent to the lighthouse at Presque Isle State Park. The $300,000 renovation made space for a gift shop and offices, as well. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS] (Erie Times-News)
Food trucks can continue to play a role in the park’s visitor-service mix. The planning question is where fixed facilities would add dependable service and how different approaches can work together.
Our request to DCNR is specific: explicitly evaluate fixed-site food concessions in the master plan, identify feasible locations and infrastructure needs, and establish a transparent path for qualified operators to compete. The public should be able to understand the steps, responsibilities, and decision points.
That evaluation should also distinguish near-term beach service from larger development concepts. Restoring a manageable level of dependable service deserves consideration on its own merits.
Erie residents, visitors, suppliers, and hospitality professionals can help by sharing concrete experiences and practical ideas through the planning process. What service is needed? Where would it be most useful? What would make it affordable, accessible, and compatible with the park?
Presque Isle inspires enormous affection and loyalty. Its next chapter should translate that commitment into thoughtful improvements people can experience during an ordinary day at the beach.
Reliable concessions deserve a place in that plan.
John Loyer is a principal of Gateway Concessions of Presque Isle, a Pennsylvania company seeking an opportunity to operate fixed-site food concessions at the park.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pa. company hopes to restore Presque Isle beach concessions | Opinion