Middleburg is providing more than $250K in restaurant vouchers, utility grants and reimbursements for retail and service businesses

Because the Town of Middleburg is located in Northern Virginia's prime horse country, it is often mistakenly thought to be wealthy. While large farms surround the town, the town itself, with 800 residents, is far from wealthy. The average annual household income is $54K, a stark difference from Loudoun County's median household income of over $135,000. Middleburg has the most significant percentage of low-income, subsidized housing units in all of Loudoun County. Many of these residents have been furloughed or lost their jobs and have been hit hardest by this crisis.

Middleburg survives largely on tourism. When the Salamander Resort & Spa opened in 2013, it provided a massive boost in tourism for the charming, historic town. Since then, other retail and restaurants have opened, and economic development has been robust, providing substantial revenues through these businesses.

COVID-19 suddenly put the brakes on the town's livelihood, and the small retailers and restaurants are suffering. Many residents are now unemployed and worried.

Middleburg's Mayor Trowbridge "Bridge" Littleton, town officials, and the town council have worked to develop and implement several creative solutions to help their citizens and businesses. The first program aimed to support local restaurants through the town's purchase and distribution of 500, $20 meal vouchers per restaurant. The town then gave these vouchers to residents for each participating restaurant in Middleburg. To participate, the restaurant agreed to meet specific criteria: they must be open for at least two meal periods—breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner per day; must be open at least four days/week, and they must stay open through April 30. This program provides each participating Middleburg restaurant with up to $10,000 from the town, upfront.

The town extended a grace period on payment of utility bills for up to 60 days while also providing a credit of $200 on that utility bill for every customer—residential and business. The cost to the town of the restaurant and utility financial relief programs is $182K.

"We've worked hard over the last several years to build a substantial rainy-day fund in Middleburg," Littleton explained. "The goal with this fund was that, in a time of true hardship, we would be in a position to help our residents and businesses in a meaningful way – which is exactly what we are now doing."

In addition, the town has just launched a retail and consumer service support program. This program will reimbursement participating businesses for 50% of any discount off the retail price, which they provide to their customers. For instance, if a retailer decides to offer a 30% discount on an online item, the town will reimburse 15% of the discount in cashback to that business. The limit on the cash reimbursement is $3,750 per business; but, for those who take full advantage of the program will help generate a total of $25,000 in gross sales. This program is aimed to incentivize businesses to continue selling, through a different, new, or creative platform, than just four weeks ago.

The economic stimulus is significant for a town with an annual budget of $3 million. "We are focused on helping our retailers, restaurants, service businesses and residents," Littleton stated, "While this drives interim support to restaurants and retailers, we wanted to ensure it also included our residents as beneficiaries of the programs. Through these efforts, we are providing assistance that helps everyone and is meaningful and tangible."

For more information, visit www.middleburgva.gov.