Local business owners breathe a sigh of relief
Business owners took time
out to ponder a worst-case scenario.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN — A fear of what might be if GM Lordstown workers stayed out for a long strike turned to relief for businesses here, where many GM families live.
The walkout began at 11 a.m. Monday and ended as the United Auto Workers and General Motors came to an agreement in the wee hours Wednesday morning. It wasn’t long enough for businesses to track an effect.
But business owners envisioned a worst-case scenario even as they predicted, hoped for a short strike.
Bruce Berry is the owner of Sleepy Hollow Sleep Shop, which has several stores in the Youngstown area including one in Austintown. A long strike would definitely affect his business, he said Tuesday.
Selling mattresses, he said, is not like selling car tires.
“When a car tire blows out, you get it fixed right away.”
A mattress, rather, is a deferred purchase. “A mattress wears out gradually. People put that off.”
A strike, he said, is circular in the way it hurts the economy. “When we’re hurt, we don’t go out and buy cars. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Were expecting the worst
Restaurants would also certainly feel the slowdown, though at Rotelli’s, no one was noticing an impact by Tuesday.
“Weekend business was good. Monday is the slowest day in the restaurant business, so it’s hard to tell,” said Bob Graff, a managing partner of the restaurant.
Still, he was expecting the worst if the strike continued. “Restaurants are the first place where disposable income gets tightened up,” he said.
John Colla, owner of Colla’s Market in the same plaza as Rotelli’s at the corner of state Route 46 and Mahoning Avenue, concurred with Graff.
Entertainment items, such as lottery tickets, would have been affected the most at his convenience store, he said.
The locally owned Colla’s prices are lower than a chain convenience store, so it may not have noticed a big difference on basic grocery items either, he said.
He said, though, that there would have been some effect.
“A lot of customers are from GM. When they started receiving the $200 a week [strike pay], you’d see something.”
Fewer calls
Already feeling the effects of the strike Tuesday was Boak and Sons, a construction company on Victoria Road. The company does roofing, insulation, windows, siding and closets for remodeling and new construction.
Owner Sam Boak said he estimated that calls were down by about 20 from the normal amount of between 70 and 90. “Our phone did not ring as much,” he said Wednesday.
He said his staff met Tuesday to talk about what could be a dry winter and spring. They would have looked more toward areas outside Youngstown, he said.
Boak said that his business is already tapping into other markets, such as Cleveland and Akron. He also pointed out that there are more residents in those areas.
People are not spending as much in the Youngstown area as they used to, he said, and a long strike would have compounded that problem.