{"id":2242728,"date":"2024-05-12T06:24:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-12T10:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uncertainty-clouds-baltimore-businesses-gritty-optimism-in-aftermath-of-bridge-collapse\/"},"modified":"2024-05-12T06:29:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-12T10:29:37","slug":"uncertainty-clouds-baltimore-businesses-gritty-optimism-in-aftermath-of-bridge-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uncertainty-clouds-baltimore-businesses-gritty-optimism-in-aftermath-of-bridge-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltimore Businesses Face Uncertainty After Bridge Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Funcertainty-clouds-baltimore-businesses-gritty-optimism-in-aftermath-of-bridge-collapse%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2242728&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The collapse \u200bof\u200d the Francis Scott Key \u2064Bridge has \u2063impacted Baltimore \u200dbusinesses, \u2063particularly seafood\u200b establishments, facing challenges with traffic\u2063 disruptions \u200band <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/running-on-empty-ev-startups-struggle-to-ride-the-high-as-demand-bubble-for-green-cars-pops\/\" title=\"EV startups face challenges as demand for green cars declines\">supply \u2063chain issues<\/a>. Local optimism persists despite \u2062concerns about \u200dfinancial impacts. The uncertainty surrounding\u2064 emergency relief loans adds to the cautious outlook of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-abortion-to-tribal-disputes-supreme-court-weighs-major-cases-this-week\/\" title=\"Supreme Court to Hear Key Cases This Week, Covering Abortion and Tribal Disputes\">business owners navigating<\/a> the\u200d aftermath. The collapse \u200bof the Francis Scott Key Bridge has\u2064 significantly\u200b affected Baltimore businesses, especially seafood establishments, due to traffic disturbances and supply chain disruptions. Despite financial concerns, local optimism prevails. The \u2063uncertain \u2063availability of emergency relief loans\u200b further\u200d contributes to the cautious approach of business \u200bowners\u2063 dealing \u2062with the \u2063aftermath.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><em>Deep-blue Maryland has been a stronghold for Democrats in general elections for decades. But with a popular former Republican governor running for an open Senate seat and eight House races, the Old Line State could spring a few surprises this November. In this series, Old Line, New Battles: Maryland feels the primary pinch, the <\/em>Washington Examiner<em> will look at the key figures and important issues six months until election day. Part five will focus on how the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is affecting local businesses.<br \/><\/em><br \/><strong>BALTIMORE \u2014 <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/baltimore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Baltimore<\/a>-area <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>businesses<\/a> are adapting to a new routine two months after the collapse of the <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/francis-scott-key-bridge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Francis Scott Key Bridge<\/a>, but many are still concerned about the downstream impact the March 26 accident will have on their bottom lines.<\/p>\n<p>Seafood restaurants and vendors, a staple of the city\u2019s identity, are particularly concerned with how increased traffic, coupled with a down crab season on the Eastern Shore, are impacting product supply heading into summer, the busiest time of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Joe Gold, the general manager at Key Brewing, a brewery and restaurant in Dundalk on the eastern end of the Key Bridge, said the city is \u201cused to tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just the nature of where we\u2019re from, and we\u2019re gritty folks,\u201d Gold said during an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> \u201cI think the optimism in our city is divided in that the people that have been affected the most, probably, have the most optimism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Gold acknowledged that while local patrons, many of whom work at the Port of Baltimore, appear to be coming in more frequently, Key Brewing has also lost any new business coming across the water from the city proper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re literally cut off from sort of that side of the river, so you got to go up and around, and hazmats have to go all the way around, but we can go into the two tunnels,\u201d he said in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cBut what\u2019s happened is the commute from our side became more tedious on our people, but people that live on that side aren\u2019t coming this way. They have other options.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Cargo containers wait to be unloaded at the Port of Baltimore (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe can tell our locals are coming in more often than they\u2019ve ever been,\u201d Gold continued, noting that the longshoremen living in Dundalk still don\u2019t know when they will go back to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/72-of-trump-voters-say-unemployment-handouts-kills-motivation-to-join-the-workforce-poll-finds\/\" title=\"72% Of Trump Voters Say Unemployment Handouts Kills Motivation To Join The Workforce, Poll Finds\">working full time<\/a>. \u201cUnfortunately, their money is going to dry up one day, you\u2019d sort of think, and we\u2019re not getting an influx of anybody from outside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> spoke to more than two dozen retailers, restaurants, and grocers on both sides of the collapsed Key Bridge, nearly all of whom said business had not significantly slowed since late March but are cautiously waiting to see if those levels can be maintained through the busy summer months.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, a majority of the business owners who spoke with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> said they were unsure of how to apply for emergency relief loans provided by President Joe Biden\u2019s Small Business Administration, even though they were aware that those funds had been made available by the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>SBA officials declined to provide total numbers of loan applicants and recipients to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, as it would violate the administration\u2019s \u201cpersonally identifiable information\u201d protections for businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Karen Gaffney operates Gaffney\u2019s Crabs, a family-owned to-go crab house in Highlandtown, and she said increased traffic is making staff members rethink their delivery routes.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Karen Gaffney stands outside Gaffney\u2019s Crabs (Christian Datoc\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gaffney\u2019s husband runs the restaurant\u2019s crab pots near the Eastern Shore\u2019s Solomons Island. What used to be a relatively manageable drive via the Key Bridge has nearly doubled in length thanks to detours, and Gaffney has hired a longshoreman who has lost out on shifts while the cleanup effort continues around the port to make the haul for her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I have to go down there and get the crabs for them, and I\u2019m sitting in traffic, I can\u2019t be here,\u201d she told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m the person who runs this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked if she plans to apply for any federal aid to help alleviate the costs of adding an employee, Gaffney said she had never heard of the SBA relief program but wouldn\u2019t apply even if she had.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just don\u2019t want to take from where it\u2019s needed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Arra Cho is a co-owner of Kraus\u2019 Little Fare Deli and Cho\u2019s Sea Garden, the latter of which was opened by her father in the old Lexington Market four decades ago. Both stores are now located in the new Lexington Market, which opened next door to the old building in 2022, near Oriole Park at Camden Yards.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Arra Cho owns Cho\u2019s Sea Garden and Kraus\u2019 Little Fare, both located in Lexington Market (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Chos say they haven\u2019t experienced \u201ctoo much of a delay\u201d in receiving their products so far but are concerned about rent payments for both of their market stalls should any major bottlenecks arise.<\/p>\n<p>Cho told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Lexington Market did receive pandemic-era emergency funding from the federal government but added that she was not aware of the exact mechanism to apply for an SBA loan herself. Jamal McCord, the general manager of Lexington Market, additionally told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that the market is exploring a new SBA loan and determining how it would distribute those funds among its various vendors and staff members.<\/p>\n<p>Stacey Guzman, the owner of Chris\u2019 Seafood in Canton, lamented the low supply and high prices of both local blue crabs and crabs brought in from Texas and Louisiana. Guzman noted that the Gulf of Mexico is also having a down season, and the week after the bridge collapse, crab coming in from that region went up $34 a box.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Chris\u2019 Seafood is a family-owned takeout restaurant in Canton, Maryland. (Christian Datoc\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not getting enough crabs because Louisiana has been so short, and then all the rains and the storms that they\u2019re having has been really difficult on us,\u201d she said in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThis is definitely probably our slowest season so far to start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Guzman said Texas and Louisiana suppliers are only shipping twice a week, down from every day, and added that freight deliveries have been delayed due to Key Bridge detours.<\/p>\n<p>She told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that deliveries are increasingly arriving in the evening, rather than near opening, which can be a death sentence for a business built on freshness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re losing the majority of that day,\u201d Guzman expressed with dismay. \u201cAll that\u2019s bottlenecked because of the bridge being down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Baltimore is years removed from replacing the downed Key Bridge, but the state government has not reported any delays on the projected timeline. Authorities plan to use explosives Sunday to remove a section of the <em>Dali<\/em> ship in an effort to free it and reopen the port, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2024\/05\/10\/dali-demolition-refloat-port-baltimore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"according to the Baltimore Sun.\">according to the <em>Baltimore Sun<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Richard Scher, a spokesman for the Maryland Port Administration, confirmed to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that the state expects its \u201cfull, 50-foot deep, 700-foot wide channel to be reopened by the end of this month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maryland Department of Transportation officials added that they are on track to complete construction of a new bridge by 2028, with an estimated cost ranging between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion. MDTA additionally plans to release a Progressive Design-Build Request for Proposal this month, and it hosted an industry forum with contractors and engineers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal funding, insurance proceeds, and other reimbursements will bring a variety of resources toward the rebuild and recovery effort,\u201d an MDTA spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cThe state is pursuing other recovery options to minimize net cost to taxpayers and toll customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden himself visited Baltimore in early April and pledged full federal support for the recovery and rebuilding effort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis port is older than our republic,\u201d Biden said. \u201cIt\u2019s been through tough, tough times before. We\u2019re determined to come back even stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On the president\u2019s response, Gold told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that \u201cwe live in a five-minute news cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a double-edged sword when you said \u2018people around here,\u2019 and then you said \u2018President Biden,&#8217;\u201d he said. \u201cThis part of the world happens to probably not be the same color, blue or red, as what his politics are. So it\u2019s less about Biden, and it\u2019s more about our governor, our mayor, our people helping out, and it\u2019s less about the Biden thing than the locals.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maryland, a Democratic stronghold, faces potential shifts as a former Republican governor enters the Senate race and several House battles heat up. With surprises looming in November, Maryland&#8217;s political landscape awaits a transformative journey. Explore the series &#8220;Old Line, New Battles: Maryland&#8221; for insights into the state&#8217;s evolving political dynamics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2242729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_1077-1024x768.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2242728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_1077-1024x768.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2242728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2242729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2242728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}