OCEAN CITY Md. - A popular Ocean City Restaurant is closing the weekend of September 24th to September 26th, but only for that weekend. Sean Harman, owner of Fish Tales says there are two reasons why he came to this decision. The first is to give what he calls a well deserved break to his staff. The second is because that weekend thousands of car enthusiasts are expected to flood the streets of Ocean City at the H20i pop up rally, an unsanctioned event. Harman says he is concerned for his staffs safety on the road.
“The traffic is so gridlocked during that weekend and there is a safety issue and I would prefer not to have my staff drive through it,” Harman said.
This will be the second year in a row Harman is closing his doors the weekend of the H20i rally. Stefanie Riley lives in Ocean City and says she sees people do burnouts and race on her street. Riley understands why businesses may have to close.
“I think it's sad. I order from Fish Tales and it's a shame that any business has to close, but I understand it, you know it gets dangerous and crazy,” Riley said.
Others will be leaving town that weekend to avoid the crowd. Marlene Dixon says last year she did not leave town and was stuck in her apartment for four days.
“It is very chaotic. The traffic on the coastal highway that you can probably hear behind you is like a speedway. It will be hours and hours of cars going up and down up and down, sirens all night long. It's quite chaotic,” Dixon said.
Ocean City Police are expected to have more officers working that weekend among other safety measures to ensure people stay safe.
