Obama's 2nd Term Means Uncertainty for Wheaton Business Owners

As President Obama again takes hold of the U.S. economy for another four years, business owners in Wheaton brace themselves to do more with less.

Derek Bromstead opened Genghis Grill five years ago at 106 N. Hale St. He operates with 21 employees who, he said, do more than expected of an average worker.

While Bromstead hasn't downsized in the past four years, he hasn't been able to grow into what he sees as his business' potential, and he is not convinced the economy will help matters any time soon.

"There have been four years of policies and nothing seems to work," he said. "As a small business owner, I'm looking for ways to expand my business, so I'm really unsure about whether I'm going to be able to do that."

He said the burden of providing healthcare and taxes don't dissuade him from expansion, but they're considerable factors. 

"We've been able to survive for five years, regardless of who is in office, so that's what we aim to do," he said. "But again, looking forward... I'm not confident things are going to change in the direction I'd like to see them change."

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Dick O'Gorman and his wife, Carole, opened Ivy Restaurant at 120 N. Hale St. when the economy hit rock bottom in 2008. They operate the restaurant with 61 employees.

But through hard work and diligence, he said, they've made it so far, but President Obama's re-election could mean additional expenses and challenges.

"With Obamacare, just the insurance problem is going to be a huge problem for guys like me who have a bunch of employees, who now I'll have to make 30-hour-a-week employees."

O'Gorman said he foresees higher unemployment rates in the next four years.

"Who's going to be able to afford the healthcare? Not me," he said. "Prices would have to go up considerably, so business would go down and then hiring would go down."

Stork's Cradle owner Julie Reinhardt is slightly more optimistic.

"We're making progress anyway—regardless of who's in office, hopefully we'll all work together to climb out of the worst thing we've seen in our grownup lives."

Stork's Cradle carries gifts and clothing for babies and children, and offers custom room designs for children. While babies will always be born, Reinhardt said Stork's Cradle has cut staff to a "skeleton crew" and costs to stay in business.

She said in the past year, she has seen an improvement in shoppers' attitudes and was able to hire more holiday staff this year.

"People are shopping more, so we will hire more again," she said. "...It used to be: Grandmas would go nuts, then grandmas would be super nervous. And now they're going nuts again."

Thinking about the future of his business poses more questions than answers, Bromstead said. 

"The economy is so big right now, I don't know if anyone can actually control it... I'm hoping these next four years will be better than the last four years. We've been able to survive, but I don't want to just survive. I want to succeed."