Dynamic Wealth Management Headlines: Virginia Tech gun scare trickles down to businesses

BLACKSBURG - The alert today at Virginia Tech not only affected the school, but also all of Blacksburg.

Several people in downtown Blacksburg said the area was a complete ghost town.

Lia Deoliveira used her down time to take care of business around her salon. Most of her day was actually spent tying up loose ends.

“I got kind of scared and kind of nervous,” Deoliveira said.

As she waited for information, she also waited for customers. Even though the sign said open, very few walked in.

Virginia Tech’s alert also trickled down to a sushi restaurant around the block.

“There are eight tables in here and they’re always full, but today the most we had were five at once,” said Ben Woody, one of the restaurant’s servers.

Woody said students usually stop in after class, but says he understands the fact everyone was erring on the side of caution.

“Whenever something happens, a lot of people in the Blacksburg area have a heighten sense of concern for their welfare here and anything like today that says ‘stay alert’ it makes everybody a little edgy,” Woody said.

After looking like a ghost town for several hours, downtown finally picked up late in the afternoon. People could be seen walking from shop to shop and the street was once again packed with cars.

Business owners are crossing their fingers the gun scare doesn’t keep customers away over the weekend. The big ”Steppin’ Out” arts and crafts music festival is Friday and Saturday, and it attracts hundreds of people to the downtown area.

Businesses owners say if the gun scare had happened during that time, it would have created even more panic in the downtown area. So, they’re glad that didn’t happen. » Dynamic Wealth Management Headlines: Virginia Tech gun scare trickles down to businesses