Small Businesses In Rehoboth Beach Riding Biden Boom With Summer Now In Full Swing
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (CBS) -- Rehoboth Beach has become the unofficial presidential summer White House. Now, the Delaware resort town is seeing a Biden boom.
President Joe Biden's beach home just outside of Rehoboth is about a two-hour drive from his home in Wilmington, and the excitement of having the president vacation here is attracting visitors from all over.
With summer now in full swing, Rehoboth Beach, near the president's second home, is seeing a surge in visitors.
"Everybody is excited when they come to town," Claire Snyder-Hall said. "You always get on Facebook, 'they're here, they're here.'"
"It's been really packed," Elena Burton said. "I think him being president has really impacted the population of people here."
President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, with some Secret Service agents, were seen cycling earlier this month near their beach home and now, businesses here are cashing in on a Biden boom.
"The Bidens" is a sandwich the owner of Lori's Oy Vey Cafe! put together in honor of the president and first lady.
"It's half of a chicken salad sandwich and half of a tuna," Lori Kline said. "Because Joe Biden likes our tuna and Jill Biden likes our chicken salad, so they get half of each sandwich."
And Lori's can hardly make "The Bidens" fast enough.
"It's the best chicken salad in Rehoboth Beach," Marie Burton said.
Browseabout Books also sells Biden merchandise -- everything from socks to White House puzzles. One of its biggest sellers is Joe Biden candles.
"The candle smells like orange Gatorade," Emma Connelly said. "It's actually his favorite drink. And it's got fun facts about him, like he loves corvettes and all that stuff, so it's a pretty cool candle."
Biden used to come to Browseabout Books to buy coffee.
He's also been seen at Double Dippers Ice Cream. The president's usual is vanilla chocolate chip.
At DiFebo's Italian Restaurant, the owner says Biden enjoys the chicken parm while the first lady prefers the lobster carbonara.
"Forget politics, they're just wonderful, nice, real people," Jeff Osias said, "and they support us, so we couldn't be happier."
The White House told Eyewitness News the president is thrilled to see his visits in Rehoboth are helping small businesses bounce back from the pandemic.