Out of season

Look around: Up and down the South Shore, businesses that in summer are abuzz with activity are, or soon will be, locked up tight for the winter. Windows will be boarded and loyal customers left to stare longingly at "See you in spring" signs posted on the doors of their favorite establishments.

It's a grim view, unless you are one of the proprietors who gets to take the long, dark winter off. That dream lifestyle is a reality for the owners of many restaurants, clubs, and shops in coastal towns where the population, as well as the tourist count, plummets in the winter. And most of them know how lucky they are.

When the weather is warm, De D'Allessandro helps run her family's award-winning restaurant, Arthur & Pat's, on Brant Rock Beach in Marshfield. From November to March, she is on vacation. How does she pass the time? "I do yoga, visit friends, go out to dinner. For me it's the only way to go."

Or travel. She has a favorite spa in Arizona, she said, and also likes Europe, Costa Rica, and Las Vegas. And Louisiana. "Wherever we go, we're always picking up new ideas and recipes," she said.

She admits that her long winter's break may look enviable. But given the early mornings and seven-day workweeks when the restaurant is open, she said, "It all comes out even. When you add up the hours, we work as much as everyone else."

In the winter, Hull's Sea Note nightclub hibernates. After last call in mid-December, club owners Paula Dillon and Joe Phillips of Hingham pack their pets into the car and head to the Florida Keys, where they frequent the clubs there that feature the same national and New England bands that play at the Sea Note.

"It's a long ride down, and when it's time to get back to work, an even longer ride back," Dillon said. "But when you're sipping a margarita at sunset on the deck of Louie's Backyard, none of that seems to matter," she said, referring to a storied Key West restaurant.

Dillon enjoys her winters off, but said "there's not as much downtime" as people think.

"We don't just turn out the lights and leave," she said. "The building has to be winterized - not a pleasant, easy, or quick task. And while we're closed, we're still booking bands, and working on other club business. The weeks before re-opening are especially manic, because anything that didn't survive the winter needs to be repaired or replaced ASAP."

Back in Hull, Carousel & Ships Gifts - an oceanfront shop on Nantasket Beach that sells everything from clothes to boogie boards to sunglasses to "Heaven or Hull" T-shirts - has already shifted to weekend-only hours, and on Dec. 1 will shut down completely for the winter.

When there's a chill in the air, co-owner Ken Hackle said, business is slower but still steady, and most customers are townspeople. "There's a lot of good will among the people of Hull," he said. "People come in and shop as long as we're open."

Ken and Jan Hackle, who live in South Easton, find part-time or temporary work in the off-season, and hope to install heat in the store so they can keep it open through New Year's at least. They're also setting up a website so people can shop online when the store is closed.

One thing seasonal business owners need is a clientele that can be counted on not to forget the place while it's closed. Tony's Clam Shop on Wollaston Beach in Quincy has that.

So devoted are some customers that they telephone owner Roy Kandalaft in Fort Lauderdale, where he goes after Christmas. They "want to know when I'm coming back," he says. He returns in March to prepare for another season at the restaurant begun by his father, Tony, 43 years ago.

While restaurateurs and club owners like to sample the competition in the off-season, shop owners search for new wares.

Susan Nailand, who owns the gift shop Artifacts on Front Street in Scituate, closes her store from mid-January until the town's St. Patrick's Day festivities. During that time she travels widely. "It gives me time to rejuvenate and sort of re-create the store," she said. "I'm always on the hunt for new things to bring back."

Some seasonal businesses generate extra income for their owners. JJ's Dairy Hut, a popular ice cream stand on Route 3A, is a side business for Lilly and Joe Sestito of Cohasset from mid April to late September. Their year-round work involves real estate and professional singing (her), running a landscaping company (him), and raising three children (both).

The Sestitos bought JJ's, a Cohasset institution for 50 years, about 19 years ago when they were first married. Lilly had been serving ice cream there since she was 13, so she already knew the business. She said she still works the counter at the beginning and end of the season when her college-age staff is stretched thin.

Not long ago, someone offered to buy the business and told the Sestitos to "name a price." They said no. "Our kids would be crushed," Lilly said, adding that her 11-year-old hopes to work the counter next summer.

She said she is sometimes tempted to stay open past September, but believes that come fall, her customers are no longer "thinking ice cream. They're thinking apple pie."

Some employees of seasonal businesses keep their jobs, but shift focus when the seasons change. Among them is Bob Avila, ship captain and director of sales for Captain John's Boats in Plymouth. After the fleet comes ashore at the end of October, he travels the country delivering a PowerPoint presentation on whale-watching and deep-sea fishing expeditions to upwards of 20 trade shows. Other captains and crew members either go back to college or spend their days refurbishing the boats, which are dry-docked in New Bedford.

The South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset stops hosting concerts around Labor Day, and although the business office hums along year-round, other staff - including a large contingent from the Berklee College of Music - are let go until summer rolls around again.

Dave Wentling, production manager of the Music Circus, supplements his seasonal income with occasional work at other venues, some of them far-flung. He recently flew to Chicago to work for Liza Minnelli. In the past he has done production and sound work for the Everly Brothers, the Gypsy Kings, and Dr. John.

But his main plan for the winter is to enjoy his time off. This month, he and his wife will head to Portugal for a two-week vacation. Then they hope to spend a quiet winter with their dogs at their waterfront home in Hull.

"The Music Circus feels kind of like summer camp to me," Wentling said. "It's nice because there's always that light at the end of the tunnel."

Correction: Because of an editing error, a story last Sunday on how owners of seasonal businesses spend the winter months incorrectly identified the owner of the Artifacts gift shop in Scituate. She is Susan Nalband.