FAIRBORN — The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has ended after 43 days.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, Miami Valley residents affected by the government shutdown know things won’t go back to normal immediately.
>>RELATED: President Trump signs government funding bill, ending shutdown after a record 43-day disruption
TRENDING STORIES:
- Officials share plans to minimize traffic during Black Friday at area mall
- 1 shot in Clark County neighborhood
- Local man facing over 400 counts of child pornography charges
News Center 7 reached out to a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base spokesperson who said there is no word on when employees will return to work. However, News Center 7 has sources who said supervisors are starting to contact employees about returning to work on Thursday.
Businesses across Fairborn said it may take time for base employees to get back to their old spending habits.
“Just because it ends today doesn’t mean you’re back to normal tomorrow,” Roland Parks said.
Parks has spent the last 18 years working at Giovanni’s.
Since the shutdown began, he said business slowed as fewer base workers stopped by to eat.
“Our regular customer base keeps us afloat... we got a very strong loyalty with our regulars, it’s a beautiful thing,” he said.
Last week, the restaurant held a food drive, offering free individual and family meals. They also collected food donations for the Fairborn Phoenix Foundation.
“We ran it from open to close,” Parks said. “And it was to go containers piled up, tickets everywhere.”
They decided the food drive would be a weekly event, held every Thursday, despite the government reopening.
“As far as I know, we will still be going on,” Parks said.
“If you’ve ever been here it’s, it’s an ever-growing town, but it’s always been like a small town. No matter how much it expands, it’s very close with Wright Patt being here, you get a lot of diversity, a lot of different people,” he added.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
