ROGUE VALLEY, Ore.– Smoke is bad for business and for many restaurants, the poor air quality during peak summer season is having a significant effect on foot traffic.
Summer is supposed to be the busiest time for restaurants in the Rogue Valley as tourists stream in to enjoy everything southern Oregon has to offer. But with the smoke, local restaurants say it’s not just tourists who are avoiding the area, even locals are getting out.
“You still see people braving it out there but half the population wears a mask now,” said Kevin Cunningham, a barista for Downtowne Coffee House in Talent.
The smoke is choking more than just our lungs. From food trucks to brick and mortar restaurants, it seems every type of food establishment is feeling the effects of a smoky summer, mostly by a lack of foot traffic.
“People that I talk to that work in the valley – everyone is impacted,” said Cunningham. “I don’t know anyone that says business is doing well at the moment.”
For some, having an indoor setting provides some relief but other’s aren’t as lucky.
“No one wants to come out and eat, it’s too much smoke,” said Wasana Sungarkul, owner of Wasana’s Thai Food Cart. “I get a little bit allergy going on too so I decide to leave town for awhile.”
According to Travel Oregon, data collected from last year’s wildfire season showed the state as a whole lost $51 million in visitor spending.
Employees and proprietors saw a loss of $16 million in earnings. But the most affected was the food and beverage industry, losing $13.9 million in revenue.
“Normally we were open until four o’clock and we’ve been doing that forever,” said Cunningham. “But we are closing earlier just because the decrease in traffic. Especially in the afternoon when it’s hot and smoky.”
Many other business are following suit while others are finding different ways of coping.
“We’ve been trying to push our catering,” said Tiffany Bactista, owner of Kona Bento in Central Point. “Offer more catering to people just so that we can get out to people rather them having to come to us. That’s been really carrying us through this time.”
These short term solutions are helping businesses get by for now but the cost of continuous smoky summers could take a serious toll.
“It definitely has made it so you have to find ways other ways to make that income for sure,” said Bactista.
“I really hate seeing it impacted by the smoke the way it is and just the economy in the area in general,” said Cunningham. “It’s really sad to see.”
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