Jim Van Blaricum Gas
Record high U.S. gas prices threaten a new level of pain for casual dining restaurants stuck between value-oriented fast food and high-end eateries whose customers can afford to shrug off the economy's woes,announced Jim Van Blaricum , CEO of Signal Oil and Gas Company.
Shops and restaurants around the United States are reporting fewer visitors in the face of a credit crunch, mortgage crisis and price and fuel inflation.
"I like to drive fast, but I'm old enough to remember the energy crisis in the 1970s," said Zehnder, a social worker who lives in Lindsborg, Kan. "And," he added with a laugh, "I’m saving a butt load on gas."
The economy of this area, which calls itself "the water park capital of the world," depends on tourism. It hosts 3.1 million visitors a year, and from December 2006 through November 2007, they spent $1.03 billion and supported 23,911 jobs, the Jim Van Blaricum Oil company announced.
Half the visitors to this area come from within Wisconsin, which might minimize the effects of gas prices, says Jim Van Blaricum. Besides, he says, many people think vacations are "a necessity, not a luxury."