Jersey shore businesses hope for better Labor Day numbers to recoup from slow summer

WILDWOOD, N.J. - It’s been a Labor Day for the ages, because 2020 has not been easy. As the crowd soaks in the last days of the season, businesses are trying to make their last summer buck.

“It’s going to have a definite impact for a while in Cape May County,” Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton said. “We don’t have the results yet, but I’m sure that it’s been very difficult. The business people that I’ve talked to, we had a very tough time. I know their businesses were down 30 to 40 percent at a minimum.”

Liz and Marge stay at the Mango Motel – the owner is a friend. Marge says he took a beating this year. But, Liz says Wildwood is better now than it was.

“I was here in June when mothing was open. No piers, nothing. What a difference , an outpouring of everybody getting together. And, being up on that boardwalk, it makes you feel so great again. It makes an enormous difference in all this disaster,” said Liz.

The Wildwood business district wasn’t getting much out of Labor Day and many closed businesses despite the federal holiday. The traffic was up on the boardwalk where there were plenty of people. Especially at Bobby D’s Arcade.

“I thought we were going to do about half the business. We did a little better than that,” “You know, we’ve been here 66 years. So, I started shining shoes on that corner when I was 10. It’s a long haul and everything is good. I’m thankful every single day. It’s a beautiful day,”

The owner of Zippy’s, a bike shop, said he had different problems. Bikes sold like hotcakes over the summer, but like many businesses, the owner had a hard time finding workers.

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