May 26, 2021
Spotlight
on:
REAL ESTATE Page 8
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Harrisonburg, Va.
Contact us
Inside This Issue The Shenandoah Valley Business Journal is a monthly publication of the Daily News-Record, 231 S. Liberty St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
By mail: Shenandoah Valley Business Journal P.O. Box 193 Harrisonburg, VA 22803
Focus Section: Real Estate ■ Area Available Home Stock Down 40% In April...Page 8
Other Business News
Editorial Staff
■ Wage Hikes For Low-Paid Positions Trickling Up...Page 3
Publisher: Craig Bartoldson
■ As Restrictions Ease, Restaurants Look Forward...Page 7
By email: svbjnews@dnronline.com By fax: 540-433-9112
■ Rosetta Stone Sees ‘Widespread’ Layoffs.........Page 9
Managing Editor: Jim Sacco
By phone: 540-574-6281 (news) 540-574-6223 (ads)
■ Contractors View Safety On I-81 As More Than A Job...Page 10
Staff Writers: Ian Munro
Columns
Contributing Photographers: Daniel Lin
On The Cover: DN-R file photo Home sales were up in Harrisonburg last month compared to April 2020.
■ Leadership with Robert McFarland.................Page 3 ■ Investments with Matthew R. Frakes.............Page 6
Valley DQ Franchise Owner Wins National Recognition
Contracting Firm Nielsen Builders Promotes Six Employees alley general contracting firm Nielsen Builders has promoted six employees, according to a May 11 press release. Daniel Hylton, a Virginia Tech Class of 2 graduate, was promoted to vice president of estimating, and 2 ynchburg College graduate Jacob Hull was named a vice president of operations. ull has worked on various local projects, including the additions and renovations to ohn ayland lementary in Bridgewater, Bluestone lementary in Harrisonburg and the Harrisonburg City Hall. Pamela osen, the new vice president of finance, has worked at Nielsen since 6 and is a graduate of ames Madison niversity, where she earned a bach-
elor of business administration degree. ebekah uller joined Nielsen in 2 and was named the senior vice president of finance recently. utside of construction, she was an accountant for the federal government between 2 and 2 . She has a master’s of accounting from iberty niversity and also graduated from the niversity of Mary ashington. Nine-year employee onathan arrison has served in numerous roles for Nielsen such as project manager and division director of a subsidiary. he and M graduate was also promoted to vice president of operations. ean ieber was promoted to vice president of human resources and has been with Nielsen for nearly years and held multiple positions. She graduated from astern Mennonite niversity.
— Staff Report
he owner of several alley airy ueen locations won an award for his commitment to supporting local youth, according to a Dairy Queen press release. oel Slocum Sr., who owns the airy Queen restaurants in Bridgewater, Verona, lkton and Stuarts raft, earned the 2 2 hildren’s Miracle Network ospitals Miracle Maker Award on May 10. n average, 62 children enter a MN ospital every minute, Slocum said in the release. amily and community are some of the most important things in life,
so it’s an honor to be able to give back and support those who need it most. couldn’t have done it without my wonderful management team and crew members, and their relentless efforts on behalf of hildren’s Miracle Network ospitals. oel has been an ama ing community partner and supporter of our program, yan ightner, associate director of development at niversity of irginia hildren’s ospital, said in the release. Year after year he and his crew members continue to go above and beyond to help the families of central irginia.
— Staff Report
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540-574-6220
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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Navigating The Four Stages Of A Small Business Every business owner needs their business to grow, regardless if you are just starting your business, or even if you have been leading it for some time. It’s not about ego; it’s about survival. Every business has to go through a process of growth in order to stay alive. Even if you want your business to stay small, it has to grow and attain a level of sustainability in order to be a viable business. Otherwise, your business is just a glorified job. Specifically, there are four stages that your business has to go through in order to remain viable.
owner must hire, train and delegate essential tasks to key staff members in order to allow growth to happen. It is in this stage that the owner must transition to the role of a manager. The owner can no longer keep the business inside their head; instead it has to be planned out, explained and followed through. At this point, the business owner needs to develop systems to enable the business Robert McFarland to run without their direct involvement. Policies and procedures function as the guard rails to keep the business on track. Having these systems in place create the culture necessary to allow the business While this growth explosion in the busiHere’s the key takeaway. Each of these to move forward even in the owner’s ab- ness is a good thing, it can nonetheless be four stages builds on the prior stages. Infancy a difficult process to deal with. Knowing When the business makes it to each sucIn the infancy stage, the relationship be- sence. that this stage will come — and actively cessive stage, it needs all the foundatween the business and the owner is that of preparing for its onset — will be essential tional elements from the prior stages to a parent and new baby. The business will Adolescence take a lot of time and effort to get it going make it move forward. The infrastructure In the adolescence stage of a business, to getting through this stage. initially. In fact, it will always take more it’s important to have established and that got the business through to the matime and effort than the owner expects be- accepted policies and procedures already Maturity turity stage is nevertheless necessary in cause the business cannot survive without in place when big growth happens. When In the maturity stage, the business be- the maturity stage. Despite how large the owner’s direct involvement. the business grows rapidly, the owner will comes a viable entity that can survive on the business grows, it will never outgrow The owner must stay engaged and in- need to lean on those established and ac- its own. As long as the business is man- its need for these foundational elements. volved in these early stages. The key is to cepted policies and procedures to ensure aged well, it should be able to navigate Robert McFarland is the author of the know that the business must grow in order a quality product or service. If the team the challenges that will be thrown at it. bestsellers, “Dear Boss: What Your Emto ourish. You cannot stay in this stage understands and implements the policies Although the business now has in ployees Wish You Knew” and “Dear Emforever, so you must actively think about and procedures in their everyday actions, place key staff members, systems, poli- ployee: What Your Boss Wishes You Knew.” how to move to the next stage. it will make navigating these growing cies and procedures, the business owner Robert is also president of Transformamust remain engaged. The owner must tional Impact LLC, a leadership develpains much easier. Childhood When the business starts growing at still provide the vision for the business opment consultancy helping companies In the childhood stage, the business a rapid rate, it will seem unmanageable. as well as the passion to drive it forward. make their ideals actionable.
Leadership
Wage Hikes For Low-Paid Positions Trickling Up By IAN MUNRO Daily News-Record
The competition for workers has led to an increase in pay for low-wage positions that is trickling upward, raising wages for those in high-paying positions as well, according to economic experts with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The economists said they are being told about the wage increases in their conversations with multiple employers from different sectors across the commonwealth. “We’ve heard that in a lot of places,” said Renee Haltom, reserve bank economist. Demand for employees drives competition between employers, resulting in higher wages and increased benefits for workers, but it also limits business growth. The demand for workers in low-wage positions is forcing employers to raise those wages to a higher level. Workers at the com-
pany at the higher-pay level then are able to bargain for an increase to their pay, and so on up the line in a “trickle-up” effect, according to Joe Mengedoth, reserve bank economist. “We hear a lot about the need for workers. There’s a lot of businesses that are out there and need to hire,” he said. “The labor force participation in the state is just down considerably and there’s still several reasons for that.” Some of those reasons include workers shifting from sectors such as hospitality to higher-paying positions in health care, skilled trades, manufacturing or IT, staying away from going back to work out of health concerns for themselves or their families, or difficulties in getting child care or elder care, according to Mengedoth. Multiple workers have switched from low-wage hospitality jobs or gig work to high-paying fields in the pandemic, accord-
ing to Associated Press reports. As well, unemployment supports are higher for many in the lowest-paid positions in the Virginia economy, Mengedoth said. “There’s some [decisions by] workers at the end of the wage scale to collect unemployment than to go back to minimum wage or close to minimum wage jobs,” Mengedoth said. In April, Virginia’s unemployment rate was 4.7% as 2,400 jobs were created, according to the most recent data available from the Virginia Employment Commission released May 21. Labor force participation dropped by 13,000 from 4.238 million in March down to 4.225 million in April, according to VEC seasonally adjusted preliminary data for April and revised data for March. Many restaurants, hotels and factories have said their ability to find workers has hampered recovery, Haltom said.
By October, Virginia had clawed back 55.7% of the roughly 480,000 jobs lost in the pandemic. But the recovery has stalled as an average of 2,000 jobs have been created each month between May and October of 2020, he said. Half a year later from October, Virginia had only recovered a further 2.3% of the 480,000 jobs lost in the pandemic, according to Mengedoth. e picked the lowest hanging fruit first, Haltom said of job recovery trends. “The sectors where people could come back to work relatively safely from the shutdowns” saw the most growth. “It was always going to be a slower return for those higher-touch sectors,” she said. However, the American economy is producing just as much as before the pandemic
See WAGE, Page 7
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
HARRISONBURG – ROCKINGHAM
Chamber of Commerce The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Christopher Quinn has been selected as the Chamber’s new President & CEO. Chris started his new role as President & CEO on April 29, 2021 and will be working remotely until May 24, 2021. Quinn said, “I’m both honored and thrilled to be part of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce! My family and I are very excited, and we can’t wait to meet everyone.”
Annual Meeting The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce celebrate our Annual Meeting virtual this year with the help of Appeal Productions and JMU. We wish to highlight our award winners.
Harrisonburg, Va.
STAFF Christopher “Chris” Quinn President & CEO chris@hrchamber.org Sheena Armentrout Director of Membership & Investment sheena@hrchamber.org Sara Wittig Director of Marketing & Communications sara@hrchamber.org Carlie Floyd Administrative Assistant carlie@hrchamber.org Trent Turner Finance & Administration Manager trent@hrchamber.org
CONTACT US Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce 800 Country Club Road Harrisonburg, VA 22802 (540) 434-3862 information@hrchamber.org
Farm Family Stewardship Award Twin Creek Farm Larry Depoy Family
Diversity Leadership Award Stan Maclin
Gavel Exchange Board Chair, Frank Oncken and Dr. Melissa Lubin
(posthumous accepted by his wife)
VISIT OUR WEBSITE TODAY TO: BECOME A MEMBER
http://chamber.hrchamber.org/ member/newmemberapp VIEW AREA JOB POSTINGS
http://chamber.hrchamber.org/ jobs JOIN THE CONVERSATION + KEEP UP WITH YOUR CHAMBER NEWS & EVENTS www.facebook.com/hrchamber www.twitter.com/HR_Chamber www.youtube.com/hrchamber
Ambassador of the Year Rebecca Penrod
Entrepreneur of the Year
Business Peron of the Year
Kirstin Moore
Angela Rouse
Community Champion Andrea Dono
www.linkedin.com/company/ harrisonburg-rockinghamchamber-of-commerce https://www.instagram.com/harrisonburgrockinghamcc/
Harrisonburg, Va.
SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Harrisonburg, Va.
Understanding The Complexities Of Medicare While they’re working, many Americans become accustomed to getting health insurance through their employer. They make their initial selections and then update their choices once a year when it’s time to renew and during life events like adding to the family or, perhaps, starting a new job. But virtually all U.S. residents face a milestone when they reach age 65 and qualify for Medicare, which provides a new and, possibly, more complex approach to health insurance. Keep in mind that even if you take early Social Security benefits at age 62, you must wait until age 65 for Medicare.
Breaking down Medicare’s four parts
Part A: Hospital insurance Helps pay for: • Inpatient hospital care • Hospice care • Skilled home-health services for homebound patients • Part A also helps with short-term inpatient care in Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities, but only if the patient is there for rehabilitation – not for long-term
or custodial care. Qualifying Once you reach age 65, you qualify for Part A. It’s unlikely you will be charged a monthly premium if you have worked and paid the Medicare payroll tax for a minimum of 10 years.
Investments
Part B: Medical insurance
Helps pay for: • Doctors’ services • Outpatient hospital care • Medical equipment and supplies • Some preventive services Qualifying All U.S. citizens and all legal aliens who have lived in the United States for at least five years qualify for Part B at age 65. No work history is required, but everyone who wants Part B must pay a monthly premium. Monthly premiums are based off the worker’s modified adjusted gross income from filed taxes, with higher income individuals paying more. Your first opportunity to sign up for Part B is the initial enrollment period, which begins three months before and ends three months after your
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Medicare enrollees who choose Part C must continue to pay their Part B premiums, and Medicare will pay the plan a Part C: Medicare Advantage Part C offers an option to buy health in- monthly fee. You might have to pay an adsurance from the private sector as an alter- ditional monthly premium depending on native to joining the “traditional Medicare” the plan. program that comes from the government. If you choose a Part C plan, you will gen- Part D: Prescription drug coverage erally get all of your Medicare-covered serThe optional Part D covers prescription vices, including all services, supplies and drugs. If you have Part A, Part B, or both, drugs that are otherwise covered by Parts you will qualify for Part D. Like Part C, Part D comes from a private A, B, and D, from your Part C plan instead. However, Part C plans typically restrict See MEDICARE, Page 10 your choices of health care providers.
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Daniel Lin / DN-R
Steve Cronise, of Roanoke, goes through the hot bar at Traditions Family Restaurant earlier this month.
As Restrictions Ease, Restaurants Look Forward By IAN MUNRO Daily News-Record
As the vaccination rate rises, local restaurants are also seeing an increase in visits, according to local operators. “In the past month or so, we have seen a bit of an increase with our customers, which is great,” said Kayla Smith, owner of Traditions Family Restaurant in Harrisonburg. She said much of the increase in customers returning is based on the vaccine, especially older clientele. “I’ve had a lot of custom-
Wage
FROM PAGE 3
even with 8.8 million fewer jobs, according to Haltom. Though positions have been eliminated, employers have “streamlined” operations to keep production moving with fewer hands,
ers say they’ve been vaccinated or say the fact other people have been vaccinated is making them more comfortable” to come out and eat, Smith said. Ridwan, owner of BoBoKo Indonesian Cafe in Harrisonburg, also said he has seen business pick up, but his five-table restaurant still sells most of its orders online for pickup. On April 22, Gov. Ralph Northam announced restaurants could begin seating at bars again as part of the increasingly frequent rollbacks of COVID-19 mitigation rules as vaccination
rates rise and hospitalizations and deaths slow. On May 14, Northam lifted the state’s universal indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people, which went into effect at midnight — putting Virginia in line with May 13’s guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Northam also said that on May 28 he’ll lift all capacity and distancing requirements. Business will still be allowed to require masks and masks will be required in schools, Northam said in
through automation or other adjustments, according to Haltom. The supply chain disruptions from the pandemic are also constricting the recovery, she said. Businesses have reported their biggest problem to re-
covery is the availability of workers and their second is the lack of materials, according to data from reserve bank surveys.
See RESTAURANTS, Page 11
Contact Ian Munro at 574-6278 or imunro@dnronline.com. Follow Ian on Twitter @iamIanMunro
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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Wednesday, May 26, 2021
SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Harrisonburg, Va.
Area Available Home Stock Down 40% In April By IAN MUNRO Daily News-Record
The stock of available homes in the Valley dropped by 40% by the end of April compared to the same month last year, according to the April Homes Sales Report from Virginia Realtors. Page and Shenandoah counties had at least 60% less homes available, while Harrisonburg and Rockingham and Augusta counties had between 40% and 60% less homes for sale in April than the same month a year prior. Shenandoah County was one of eight localities where there were fewer sales in April compared to April 2020. Sales in Page County increased 10% from the year prior in April, while sales surged more than 20% in Harrisonburg and Augusta County over the same period. Rockingham County saw between a 10% and 20% increase in home sales in April compared to the same month last year. Across the entire state, median sales were up by over $75,000 in April of this year compared to April 2017. In April 2017, the median sales price in the commonwealth was $280,000, while in April of this year, it reached $355,643. Over the same period, average days on the market for Virginia homes dropped by over 50% from 62 to 25. The months of supply of homes has dropped from by nearly 70% from 4.8 to 1.4 in April 2021 compared with the same month four years earlier. The share of homes sold in Virginia below $400,000 is slipping, while the share of expensive homes is growing, according to data. The largest share of homes sold in Virginia, 42.5%, were priced between $200,001 and $400,000. This is a reduction of nearly 2% from April 2020. Homes sold for $200,000 or less dropped by nearly 6%. In April 2020, homes priced $200,000 or lower made up over a fifth of the statewide sales. This April, homes priced at $200,000 or lower made up 15.5% of total sales. The amount of sales of the most expensive Virginia homes, priced at $800,001 or more, increased by over 50% in April compared to the same month the year before. The area locality with largest increase in median sales price in April compared to a year prior was Page County, where prices jumped by 20% or more. Median sale prices increased between DN-R File
See HOME, Page 9 Home sales were up in Harrisonburg last month compared to April 2020.
Harrisonburg, Va.
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Rosetta Stone Sees ‘Widespread’ Layoffs After Acquisition By IAN MUNRO Daily News-Record
Local Rosetta Stone employees have been laid off, according to Brian Shull, city economic development director. “We’ve not heard numbers yet, so we’re still waiting for additional information from the company,” Shull said May 12. In March, North Carolina-based digital language learning company IXL Learning announced it had acquired Rosetta Stone. In a May 12 email, Eric Bates, an IXL spokesperson, declined to provide a timeline for when layoffs will occur or say how many people will lose their jobs and how many workers will remain employed in Harrisonburg once the changes are in place. “There were personnel changes as we integrated Ro-
setta Stone into IXL, and we continue to evaluate how we can best incorporate the Harrisonburg office into our future plans,” Bates said in the email. Rosetta Stone was established in Harrisonburg in 1992. The company has seen its local employment dwindle over recent years and is now headquartered in Arlington. In September, the company had 179 local employees, according to a previous interview with Shull. The company had employed roughly 500 workers locally in 2 2, but the figure dropped to roughly 300 by the end of 2015. Rosetta Stone announced the closure of its county distribution center in 2017. Sources called the announcement of the layoffs inside the business “abrupt” and said they were “widespread.” The Virginia Employment ommission has been notified
and will be posting information about the layoffs through its Virginia Workforce Network’s Rapid Response program system, according to Joyce Fogg of VEC. The program coordinates support for laid-off workers and companies to minimize the impact of job loss. City Councilwoman Laura Dent, who has worked in the tech sector, was laid off by the company twice — once in 2012 and then again as a part-time employee in March 2020. “I know how volatile the tech industry is,” she said May 12. In 2012, city staff, elected officials and ent worked together to try to find more opportunities for the other laidoff Rosetta Stone workers so they could stay in the Valley. “Is there something similar we can do today? And this is just me thinking off the top of
my head, but I was really impressed” with the city’s actions, Dent said. Rosetta Stone is only one of many large acquisitions IXL Learning has closed on in recent years for companies that also offer digital learning services. IXL Learning was founded in 1998 and is used by one in five merican students. The Rosetta Stone purchase came after IXL Learning also obtained Wyzant, the country’s largest marketplace for online tutoring, according to Yahoo! Finance. A year before acquiring Rosetta Stone, IXL Learning bought Vocabulary.com. he firm acquired Education.com, used by 23 million teachers and parents, in 2019 and purchased ABCya in 2018. ABCya produces educational games. Shenandoah Valley Partnership Director Jay Langston said the layoffs carry addi-
DN-R File
In March, North Carolina-based digital language learning company IXL Learning announced it had acquired Rosetta Stone. tional weight since the area is trying to grow its employment in tech jobs. “It’s a devastating blow in that regard because we are poised for additional growth in this sector,” he said. The state has been trying to increase the number of tech jobs available in the state, but most of the growth has been in
Northern Virginia, according to Langston. “This is an important sector for not only what [Rosetta Stone has] represented in the past, but for our future as well,” Langston said. Contact Ian Munro at 574-6278 or imunro@dnronline.com. Follow Ian on Twitter @iamIanMunro
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DN-R File
Harrisonburg faces an affordable housing shortage. in April compared to April are compared. 2020. The median home 10% and 20% in Harrison- sales price in Rockingham Contact Ian Munro at 574-6278 burg as well as Shenan- increased by as much as or imunro@dnronline.com. Follow Ian on Twitter @iamIanMunro doah and Augusta counties 10% when the two months
Home
FROM PAGE 8
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Harrisonburg, Va.
Contractors View Safety On I-81 As More Than A Job By IAN MUNRO Daily News-Record
For Glen Rutherford, the sign he’s doing a good job means that no one can tell he’s been to a spot at all. “The goal is to keep the road clean and the public safe,” Rutherford, 50, of Front Royal, said behind the wheel of a Ford truck as the early morning sun started to scatter the clouds. Rutherford works for DBi, a contracting firm that helps the Virginia Department of Transportation keep traffic rolling down Interstate 81 as smoothly and securely as possible. “It’s ever-changing. All day long. You think you’re doing the same thing every day, but there are small variables in there that change up every day,” Rutherford said. The crews also help address crashes, including fatalities, which are the hardest, he said. And for Rutherford and the
Medicare
FROM PAGE 6
company, not directly from the government. When you turn age 65, you will have the right to enroll in one of several Medicare-approved Part D prescription drug plans. Medicare pays most of the cost of Part D. However, if you choose Part D, you will pay a monthly premium to the company you select.
Supplementing your coverage
Medicare alone is not likely to be enough. To help minimize out-of-pocket expenses, many retirees have some other arrangement to supplement Medicare’s coverage. Some options include: Fo r m e r e m p l o y e r health insurance – Your former employer may let you carry its group health plan into retirement. If you are retired and eligible for Medicare, your employer’s group
other local DBi workers, reducing such occurrences is more than just clocking hours. The DBi crews first meet around 7:30 a.m. for a meeting and then split up and head out for the first drive of their day through their watch zone. Rutherford patrols a 70mile loop through Shenandoah County on I-81 along with Jeff Gineris, 49, of Woodstock. Other crews patrol other areas, such as Frederick and Warren counties led by Len Winnings, 73, of West Virginia. Winnings said he does a 100-mile loop, which along with other tasks for I-81 safety, racks up about 60,000 miles a year on a truck. And each day brings new challenges that can come on suddenly, they said. “A mile up the road, the whole day can change,” Rutherford said. “It’s very unpredictable.” n the first drive, they space
themselves apart and make note of what needs to be done — sign adjustments, guardrail repair, roadkill removal and debris disposal, among a variety of duties. “It’s the same stretch of road, but constantly changing scenarios,” Rutherford said. Such as recently, when a tree fell and hit a tractor-trailer, injuring the driver, Rutherford said. On routes, DBi workers like Rutherford remain alert, radio switched off, because sometimes there are issues they come across that need to be immediately addressed, such as a large object in the middle of the roadway, which could cause drivers to swerve into each other or off the road, he said. And sometimes this requires workers to step into a lane, if even for a moment, at any time of the day. “You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel out here, pay
health plan is your Medicare supplement. Medigap insurance – Medigap is supplemental health insurance you buy from a private insurance company to fill in some of the gaps in Part A and Part B. Medigap policies pay some or all of Medicare’s deductibles and co-payments, and some cover a few services that Medicare doesn’t. Medicare Advantage Part C – Part C is not a true Medicare supplement because it replaces Medicare’s coverage. But if you have Part C, you will not need a Medicare supplement. This article contains basic information about Medicare, services related to Medicare and services for people with Medicare. If you would like to find more information about the government Medicare program, please visit the official U.S. government site at medicare.gov. Wells Fargo Advisors
does not provide legal, tax or accounting advice, but your financial adviser will be happy to work with your chosen legal and tax advisers to help you achieve your financial goals. Insurance products are offered through nonbank insurance agency affiliates of Wells Fargo & Co. and are underwritten by unaffiliated insurance companies. This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of Matthew Frakes, financial adviser in Harrisonburg at (540) 801-3211. Investments in securities and insurance products are: NOT FDIC-INSURED/ NOT BANK- GUARANTEED/ MAY LOSE VALUE Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
attention all the way around you,” Rutherford said. He said DBi and VDOT workers, the VDOT Safety Service Patrol, tow-truck operators and Virginia State Police all work hand in hand and have solid communication between each other to address issues. fter their first lap in the morning, they’ll meet back up — these crews at a VDOT and DBi work yard just off Exit 298 to Strasburg — grab the tools and maybe special vehicles they’ll need, and then head back out, remaining vigilant for any immediate issues. The most common problems are litter, debris and dead animals, Rutherford said. “Picking up litter drives us nuts, man,” Winnings said. “People throwing junk out the window, losing stuff off their vehicles.” Winnings has been with the company for a decade and said he can still be surprised by the
things they find. He and coworker Cody Darr, 24, of Middletown, cleared a swing set from I-81 two weeks ago, Winnings said. Certain problems tend to appear in certain seasons, such as more tires blown in summer’s sweltering heat and more bucks struck by vehicles in late fall and early winter during mating season, according to Rutherford. And sometimes, local DBi workers come across household pets. Rutherford described one day where he found a dead cat. Later on, while working near a fence line, he was approached by a couple of farmers clearly looking for something. When the farmer asked about a cat, Rutherford’s heart sank as it matched the description of the one he had loaded into a trailer for disposal. “You could see the air go out of the old man,” he said, add-
ing that upon request from the owner, he reunited the cat’s remains with him. The most common animals crews have to dispose of include deer, squirrels, raccoons and possums, though crows and falcons are not too rare. It is unusual to come across bears, which stink the most, according to Winnings and Rutherford. Other issues are year-round, such as guardrails needing repair that are often only identified by Bi or patrols since many crashes that cause the damage go unreported, according to Rutherford. But the nonstop nature of keeping traffic on - rolling and the infrastructure solid doesn’t rattle Rutherford. “I like to think of it as doing my part,” Rutherford said. Contact Ian Munro at 574-6278 or imunro@dnronline.com. Follow Ian on Twitter @iamIanMunro
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Restaurants
SHENANDOAH VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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FROM PAGE 7
his announcement. As of May 15, bars can serve alcohol even after midnight and dining rooms can be open between midnight and 5 a.m. Other amendments, which went into effect May 15, include increasing the capacity at indoor gatherings to 100 and to 250 at outdoor gatherings. The restaurant and hotel industries were most impacted by the pandemic with millions losing jobs and countless businesses closing. However, as interest in going out to eat returns, the reduced number of restaurants means increased business for those remaining, according to osario lfieri, owner of omano’s Italian Bistro in McGaheysville. “A lot of restaurants closed and are not open anymore, so it created a vacuum for people to go somewhere else,” he said. Alfieri said his eastern Rockingham County restaurant saw its best James Madison University graduation weekend to date. “People from Harrisonburg are more willing to travel because I’m not that far away and they’re at capacity in town,” he said. He also said there is more travel around Massanutten Resort. efinitely, in comparison to this time last year, there’s way more tourists,” he said. Capacity is also less of an issue than the 6-feet of distance between tables at Romano’s, according to lfieri. He said even if he was able to open at full capacity, he would still be at 50% since he has to keep one booth closed between seating, cutting his available tables in half. The pandemic still impacts how much more customers translates to profit because of increased overhead, according to the operators. Supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic
Daniel Lin / DN-R
BoBoKo server Amanda Carrera brings out an order. have caused backups and price increases across a variety of products including lumber, steel and food. Prices for meats, such as pork, beef and chicken, are up 5 -6 , according to lfieri. Some prices have increased four- to five-fold for products restaurants need, according to Ridwan. He said he is trying to ride out the current cost increases so he doesn’t have to adjust menu prices, but may have to in several months. djusting prices is a difficult problem for restaurant owners stuck between the chance for more business, but higher prices immediately eating that margin up. t is a fine line to know how to price your products when, on my back end, the price is rising,” Smith said. “We still want to have a fair price and be competitive.” But it’s not just getting customers through the door, but also workers, since many may have left the industry, face child care issues, health concerns or simply prefer the available unemployment support, according to lfieri and previous interviews with restaurant employers and employment experts. “Everybody’s hiring because nobody wants to come back to work,” Alfieri said, who added that some people may be able to make more money on unemployment than working at a restaurant.
Jobs in the service sector are typically lower paying. Jobs in preparing and serving food are in the lowest paid occupational group, and workers of these positions had a median wage of $24,220 in May 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One approach employers use to attract more workers is to increase pay or bene-
Daniel Lin / DN-R
Romano’s Italian Bistro owner Rosario Alfieri preps food in the kitchen of his restaurant. fits — something other industries can do easier than restaurants, where the profit margin is 5% to 6%. And though things are
still better than they were “We’re not out of the months ago for the restau- woods yet,” Smith said. rant industry, according to Smith, it’s still not a pre-pan- Contact Ian Munro at 574-6278 or imunro@dnronline.com. Follow demic world.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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