Ocean City Businesses Feel Optimistic About Post-Summer Months

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Some local business owners have noticed a trend. Tourist season has ended and schools have reconvened, but more people seem to have stuck around Ocean City than usual.

Patty Talese — co-owner of Jon & Patty's Coffee Bar and Bistro — says many customers have told her they're working remotely and sticking around the area. More families can also make short visits because of remote work and children participating in virtual or hybrid education, she says.

"I feel like this is going to be a nice offseason — that people are here, and they’d rather be here than in a crowded city," Talese said. "If you’re going to work remotely, why not work in a beautiful place like Ocean City?"

The trend has some business owners feeling optimistic. Caitlin Quirk runs two businesses in Ocean City: Bowfish Kids, which specializes in children's products, and DriftSpaces, a place for independent and remote employees to get work done. She feels confident about the prospects of both this fall.

Her businesses and most around New Jersey couldn't operate at a normal capacity this summer. But she's noticed more people than usual sticking around after Labor Day.

"I have friends that are 30 years old that were diehard Manhattan people that said they would never leave the city that are now coming down here and scooping up winter rentals," Quirk said. "I think there’s a huge opportunity for businesses to make up for what we lost."

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Much has changed since New Jersey's initial coronavirus outbreak last March. Cape May County officials urged non-residents to stay away from the area. A man visit from New York City tested positive March 18 for the county's first reported case. Read more: Visitor Has Cape May County's 1st Positive Coronavirus Case

"We love all of our visitors from Pennsylvania, North Jersey, New York and further away," Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton said in March. "But this is not the time to be visiting the shore as we try to focus resources needed during this pandemic to our residents."

The calls from officials to avoid Cape May County sparked outrage from some second-home owners. Read more: Calls To Avoid Cape May County Amid Coronavirus Spark Controversy

At the time, officials worried that an influx of visitors could strain hospitals. But a relatively successful summer and months of preparation has the county ready to welcome people to stick around.

"Those concerns were expressed at a time when our state was going into shutdown and a lot was still unknown about the virus and its spread," said Denis Brown, administrative aide to the county freeholders. "Precautions were taken to try and avoid overburdening the medical system because of what we didn’t know about COVID-19. We just went through a busy summer season and the local hospital did not have capacity issues related to COVID-19."

Health officials reported 104 active coronavirus cases in Cape May County, including eight in Ocean City. Businesses will play a part in the county's hopes to get the active-case numbers to zero.

"The biggest thing is we need to conduct business in a way that’s safe and cautious of the virus, because it definitely hasn’t gone away," Quirk said. "We just need to make sure we’re operating in a safe manner that makes people comfortable. If they’re not comfortable, what’s the difference between here or a city?"

Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

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