LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- South Puget Sound business owners fear they will be forced to close their doors for good if the federal government cuts some 11,000 jobs at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The Tilicum neighborhood of Lakewood, home to Galloping Gerties, would be one of the hardest hit areas. Nearly everyone who spends money in the neighborhood wears a military uniform. Soldiers have been dining at family-owned Galloping Gerties since the early 1950s. The eatery is old enough to know its fair share of economic battle scars, but owner Susan Rothwell says nothing compares to these potential JBLM cuts.
"If you want to cut another 11,000, do the math," said Rothwell. "I don't think Gerties will be here because that is the mainstay of our business."
The worry at Gerties is that 90% of business will vanish with the potential cuts. That loss could turn Tilicum into a ghost town where jobs have already been lost in recent months.
"People have been a Gerties for 20, 30 years," said Rothwell. "This is their home. I feel like I'm taking food off their table."
Previous JBLM layoffs are still hurting. Since November, a 15% decrease in sales at Gerties has forced Rothwell to layoff a cook and an employee who washed dishes. Two waitresses remain at the restaurant.
"They feel it in their pocket because their tips are down," Rothwell said.
Gerties' woes are all too familiar across the South Puget Sound. Business owners say there's not much they can do besides writing Congress and hope for the best.
For perspective, the 11,000 potential layoffs nearly equals the population of Woodinville.
The Department of Defense is expected to announce its downsizing decision by the end of summer 2015.
If the maximum amount of layoffs go into effect, more than a half of a million dollars will be lost in the surrounding area and even more will be lost in sales tax, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce.
