VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Local business owners are gearing up for the Something in the Water Festival happening at the end of April.
Many owners told 13News Now, they are very excited to welcome more than 35,000 people to the area, but they said it does bring small challenges.
“The employees are all concerned. They are asking me how we are going to get here and how we are going to get home. Right now I don’t have those answers for them,” explained Ocean Eddie’s owner Jeff Hague.
City leaders said everyone should expect crowds like the Fourth of July, but business owners said they’re expecting way more than that.
Hague said, “If I can’t get my employees here, I can’t operate my business.”
Many business owners share the same opinion. Owners worry about parking and traffic for employees.
Hague said he’s waiting for a public meeting about the festival before making final arrangements. Meanwhile, other business owners said they already have a solid game plan!
“We have about 200 people to bring in. In order to do that, we will have someone designated to manage that. We will have some shuttling, we have parking spaces of our own and of course Uber,” said Mike Standing.
Standing owns multiple restaurants at the Oceanfront. His biggest concern is a shift change.
He said, “The shift change or people that are coming in. When someone comes in around five o’clock because they stay until three or four in the morning to clean up. That is the major challenge.”
13News Now reached out to city leaders. A spokesperson said festival leaders are going from business to business sharing their plans. Part of the plan is to have some sort of credential process for employees.