OC town officials expect busy season as warm weather approaches, businesses still face challenges
OCEAN CITY, Md. – “We are very fortunate to be in Ocean City the last couple of years and I think we are primed for another busy summer,” The Hobbit Restaurant Owner Garvey Heiderman said.
Warmer weather and tourists are the “perfect storm” for the business community in Ocean City. Those with the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce say they expect heavy foot track again this season.
“And with the price of gas and the impact that’s had on other forms of travel, we expect that we will hopefully reap the rewards of those that want to stay within a relatively short driving distance,” OC Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lachelle Scarlato said.
“Visitors are going to see some of the properties that they may have recognized in the past operating under a different name, structure and in new form here this summer in Ocean City.”
While the crowds may be coming to the resort town, business owners and city officials say one big challenge they continue to face is the lack of workers due to limited seasonal housing.
“I know many of my employees that don’t own homes, season to season year to year, and find it hard trying to find places to rent,” Pickles Pub Owner Brittney Acita said.
“Some of the stay-in platforms, in particular Air BNB and VRBO, have worked in good favor but have garnered some of what was set aside for us for seasonal workforce housing,” Scarlato said.
We checked with Pickles Pub in Ocean City who says that this time last year they were operating at 50% capacity. Now despite having more customers coming through the doors, there are still other challenges they face as their busiest season approaches.
“We’ve taken off our crab cakes and our crab cake entrée sandwich just because you’re going into a pub and we really do our best there to make it affordable for all,” Acita said.
Management with The Hobbit Restaurant says they’re fortunate to not be completely impacted by supply chain issues due to using mostly raw ingredients. What they can’t put their hands on, they’re buying in bulk which includes alcohol.
“We’re ordering more at once and stockpiling things because we saw the supply chain issues the past couple of years and we’ve kind of tweaked and made certain changes so we can handle more inventory at certain times,” said Heiderman.
Despite this, with new constructions underway and a calendar full of events, the businesses community says they’re ready for a summer to remember.
“We are a reservation based restaurant so we kind of have a crystal ball in understanding how busy we’re going to be a week or two weeks out and already it seems like we’re going to be busy as well,” Heiderman said.
“So that’s good for us and good for our business community and we’re ready to host a season full of guests,” Scarlato said.
The Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce tells 47ABC they’re actively working on the seasonal workforce housing issue and hope it will be addressed by future seasons.
The Hobbit Restaurant will open back for business in mid-April.
To find out about all the changes you can expect to see and events coming up this season, click here
