Local businesses capitalize on huge holiday crowds

Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone, and while no official numbers of crowds that hit Delmarva beaches have come in yet, the money certainly has.  Lower gas prices combined with a wet spring, followed by a beautiful holiday weekend is bringing scores of people out, creating a perfect storm for local businesses.

Butch Evans is the owner of Old Inlet Bait & Tackle.  He tells 47ABC the crowds are some of the best he’s ever seen. “We’ve been doing this tent sale for I think 31 years, and this is probably the second best tent sale. There were so many people around we were really jammed up in our parking lot” he tells 47ABC as they were wrapping up for the day. 

And while customers at Evans’ shop hope the fish bite, Ed Riggins is aiming for bites a little higher up the food chain.  Riggins owns a seafood spot in the heart of Dewey, and he told 47ABC the weekend crowd had his staff truly tested. “You’re just starting the season and really pumping out and we have new personnel and were busy” he admits, but says it’s a good problem to have.

47ABC caught up with Katherine Judge in Dewey as well, who manages one of Lynam’s beach shacks, she says the crowd only seems ot get bigger every year and that this year was the largest crowd shes seen in years.