The concession stand at Bullhead Point is empty again.
Ace BBQ got out of its contract with the city of Fulton “a little early,” said Mayor Ron Woodward. He said the was having more success with its catering business than its retail business.
It’s the third restaurant to try to make a go of it in the city-owned and city-subsidized building on the shore of Lake Neatahwanta.
“Seems like it’s been a controversy forever,” said Woodward.
Local businessman Don Labarge first attempted to run a restaurant in a space designed for a concession stand. Local restaurants objected and ran a public campaign against the business. Among those objecting was Sandy Freeman, who owns Sweet Inspirations restaurant just up the street. When Labarge’s restaurant closed, Freeman gave it a go, but closed.
The building was built with public funds to serve primarily as a tourism information center. The center was staffed by volunteers initially, but fizzled amidst the dissolution of the Greater Fulton Chamber of Commerce.
Woodward said the city has had some interest in reopening the concession stand. He’d like to see the building reopened, with a tourism information center, in part to reduce the city’s cost for heating the building and in part to get the building’s public restrooms reopened. Bullhead Point’s pavilion has become a popular site for weddings and other large family and public events and the only restrooms are in the closed building.
