ACCOMACKCOUNTY, Va. - It's been over a month since the government shutdown. And businesses near the NASA Wallops Flight Facility are feeling the impacts without those employees.
Only essential employees are continuing to report to work every day at the facility. But since the public relations team is furloughed, information about current operations at NASA Wallops has been limited.
Over the 32 days of shutdown so far, neighboring restaurant Ocean Deli says it has seen a 15-percent drop in normal business. Owner Andy Tiftikidis says while he normally has eight employees for a lunch shift, now he can only staff six.
Tiftikidis says he agrees with the president's plan to build a wall at the Mexican border and is willing to pay the price in business to do so. He adds that he plans to give those serving in the local Coast Guard branch a 50-percent discount as well during the shutdown.
"That doesn't mean that I'm not losing money, but that's okay. As long as this country is okay I'm fine with it," Tiftikidis said.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Robie Marsh also gave the following statement to WBOC on Tuesday:
"Especially in the tourist off-season, these businesses depend on both the local and out-of-the-area workers that commute daily to Wallops and typically eat out for lunch at a minimum of 3 to 5 days a week. If they are not able to come to work and are not getting paid, they are obviously not eating out, which hurts these local businesses especially during the slower January-February season."
Tiftikidis anticipates it could still be another month or longer before the shutdown is lifted by the federal government.
