FORT KENT, Maine — About a year ago, Rock’s Family Diner prepared nearly 30 gallons of chili to be served in the Irving-sponsored tent at the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog races.
So it was a big disappointment for the downtown business when the 2024 races had to be cancelled due to unseasonably warm weather. Fortunately, many people in the community came in and bought large quantities of chili to support the diner anyway, according to its owner, Tracy Caron.
But now, a year after the largest annual event in the St. John Valley was cancelled, Caron and many other business owners throughout the region are especially eager for the major economic boost that will come with the race’s return this weekend.
The Can-Am brings in mushers from New England, New Brunswick and beyond. Thousands of participants, organizers, families and spectators line the streets on the first day of the race, providing local hotels, restaurants and other businesses with their largest rush of customers.
The cancellation of last year’s races resulted in a serious economic blow to the community.
Restaurants like Rock’s Family Diner depend on the additional revenue from the Can-Am customers to fund equipment upgrades. Now, Caron said she is looking forward to reinvesting the extra income back into her business, especially after a slow start this year due to a delayed snowmobile season.
“The snow came late this year, but in the last couple of weeks we’ve started to see the snowmobilers trickling in,” she said. “We now know that we have enough snow for Can-Am this weekend, so we’re very excited for that.”
Jacob Pelkey, a media contact for the race who works as a tourism developer at the Northern Maine Development Commission, said the event’s economic impact reaches beyond just Fort Kent, with some visitors booking hotels in Madawaska, Caribou and Presque Isle, and others patronizing regional businesses during their drive up to the event.
In 2023, Pelkey said that approximately 50,000 American visitors were tracked in the downtown Fort Kent area over the course of a week, and that the total number — including Canadians whose cell phone activity couldn’t be tracked — likely reached between 63,000 and 70,000.
Pelkey said that while some races in the western part of the country have been canceled or adjusted due to the lack of snow, Fort Kent has enough snow this year to move forward without any changes.
“We have the snow that we need,” he said, “and I think the mushers are going to appreciate the conditions.”
Local hotels like the Northern Door Inn were hit by the cancellation last year, as many participants reserve rooms in advance for the race.
Diane Pinette, who works at the front desk and helps with other tasks at the Northern Door Inn, said that business is much better this year.
“These last two snowstorms really helped us a lot,” Pinette said. “It brought in the snowmobilers and, of course, the Can-Am.”
She said the hotel is booked well into next month.
“It’s nice to see the crowds, and it’s busy as heck, but that’s good,” Pinette said.
She said that, in the past, some residents have opened their homes to mushers as the hotels were all booked.
When the race was canceled last year, Pinette said everyone in town was talking about it.
“Everybody was hurt; it was painful,” she said. “That was the conversation of the day. It was just hurting the community.”
The Swamp Buck restaurant also sees a major boost in business during the races. Waitress Amelia Nadeau said the restaurant is now seeing at least three times as much business as last year.
“It’s just because we did not have a snowfall last year, and we also suffered as a business because we didn’t have Can-Am last year,” she said.
People coming into the restaurant are looking forward to the race on Saturday, Nadeau said.
“They said that if we don’t have it this year, they’re going to be so discouraged,” she said.
Not only is this one of the restaurant’s biggest days, but the morning of the race is also the only time they offer a breakfast buffet.
“Everyone walks around and serves themselves,” she said, “and we have an amazing chef here that makes everything homemade.”
Nadeau, who has worked at the Swamp Buck for five years, said that it is hard to keep track of how many customers come into the restaurant during the race, which guests can see from the restaurant’s windows that overlook Main Street.
“The day is just insane,” she said. “People are in and out. And it’s right here, so it’s convenient for our business.”
Last year was also a tough time for businesses due to a short snowmobile season, according to Caron, the owner of Rock’s Family Diner. But she said 2023 was great.
“We were really busy,” she said. “I mean this place was popping for probably three months for snowmobile season.”
Caron also credited the locals who are there to support the operation throughout the year. Just as her restaurant had a surplus of chili when last year’s race was canceled, another business printed several Can-Am T-shirts that residents swooped in to buy following the cancellation.
“There’s a lot to be said for the community,” Caron said. “Even though we had trouble last winter, we still had a lot of support.”
