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Memorial Day weekend brings boom to Little Rock waterfront business

Last year was difficult for Samuel Ellis. His dock on the Little Maumelle River was nearly empty, but one year later they're doing more than just treading water.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As last year's Memorial Day featured scaled back celebrations, this weekend is important for business owners who thrive from weekend sales.

"Starting a new business has its difficulties every year," Samuel Ellis, owner of Rock Town River Outfitters in Little Rock, said. "But 2020 was a hard one for us."

This time last year, his dock on the Little Maumelle River was nearly empty.

One year later, they're doing a lot more than just treading water.

"I think it's probably almost doubled," Ellis said. "It was definitely a lot quieter this time last year. It was right before people started realizing that you can get outside and that's the safest way to be during the pandemic, and before people got stir crazy."

For a business that relies on visitors, that wasn't good. Unfortunately, that wasn't the first time that they've run into issues.

"2019 we had just opened this location here on the Little Maumelle River," he said. "We also had the hundred year flood that kept us off the river."

His business, like countless others, was left searching for answers when the pandemic happened.

"It was scary for us," Ellis said. "We were part of the pandemic. We were kind of wondering the same questions that everybody else was."

One year later though, and it's a whole different story.

"This year has been incredible," Ellis said. "We've seen a lot more guests, we've had to purchase a lot more boats, and a lot more bikes so we can get more people out here on the water safely."

This may be a great time for businesses, not only Ellis', to rebound.

Beautiful weather on a holiday weekend. Restrictions being lifted across the country. For businesses that thrive on visitors, those two things are the winning combination.

"It's funny because getting back to doing some of the normal things that I feel like we all took for granted is becoming something that I feel like everybody is really looking forward to," Ellis said. "Feels like we're getting a fresh breath of air for the first time in over a year."

With this being the unofficial start of summer, it's the fresh air and new beginning that they've been waiting on.

"I mean, it's about to be a mad dash to summer," Ellis said. "We're excited to offer all these things. I think excitement would really be my feeling towards it all."

For those interested, more information on Rock Town River Outfitters can be found here.

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