Diehards arrive early for Belts’ seasonal opening

By Brandi Makuski

Opening day camping has returned to Belts’ Soft Serve.

“Since I was very young and saw people camping here, I’ve always wanted to do it,” said Megan Wecker, 32, of Stevens Point. “I hadn’t seen people camping for a few years and I decided this was the year I would do it. It was on my bucket list.”

Wecker and her boyfriend arrived at the popular soft serve stand, 2140 Division St., at about 8 p.m. on March 2, armed with a two-room tent, air mattress, and -30 degree sleeping bags, with plans to be the first in line for the Belts’ opening day.

Still, she wasn’t sure it was legal.

“I was 15 percent sure we’d be arrested,” Wecker said, laughing.

Andrea Curley, 38, lives nearby Belts’ and she’s been first in line for the past several years, until now.

“It’s OK, though — I’m number two,” she said. “I got here at 4:50 a.m., a little earlier than I did last year.”

“I would like to point out that she was awake earlier than I was,” said Wecker, chuckling.

Belts’ co-owner Cole Racine said he remembers previous years where the parking lot was a sea of tents, ice shanties, and cooking grills the night before opening day. COVID put a damper on that tradition, he said, but added this could be the beginning of its resurgence. Even if it’s not, he said he was excited to finally open for the year.

Racine, 41, has been working in the store for about 30 years. His father purchased the business from his grandfather in 1991, and Racine was put to work, picking up trash or doing dishes, when he was about nine years old.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time so with a lot of these people, they aren’t just customers, they’ve become like a family,” he said Friday morning. “We’ve become part of people’s lives, their family get-togethers, their happy moments. They recognize you, and you recognize them because they keep coming back every year. I’m so excited for this season.”