Several months of winter have taken their toll on the Silver Valley town of Wallace. Empty storefronts are scattered along the the downtown core that weren’t empty during last summer’s tourist season. With 60 store fronts to fill and only 780 core residents of the small town, the off season is a constant struggle.
Inside the Red Light Garage, a lunch crowd chows down on burgers and fries. The steady business has been a surprise to the restaurant’s co-owner, Jamie Baker. He says this year, it’s been better.
“The long term outlook, I feel, is really positive out here,” Baker said. He’s owned the restaurant on 5th and Pine for almost nine years.
“People come out in the summer. They say, 'what a great place to have a business.' Quite a few people want to open up a business here and then they realize they have seven months of winter. You have to find quite a few niches to survive and a lot of people don’t survive,” Baker said.
