DELAWARE WATER GAP, Pa. — The impact of a road closure continues to be felt by businesses in one part of the Poconos.
Main Street in the borough of Delaware Water Gap is quiet—too quiet if you ask the business owners.
"Since the road closure happened, it's been on a dramatic decline," said Kailyn Fulmer, owner of Mystic Mug.
Fulmer is talking about the Route 611 closure. The three-mile stretch of road was shut down in December 2022 after a rockslide. Since then, some shops, like Asparagus Sunshine, have closed. Others are feeling their bottom line take a hit with a lack of customers.
"It's really rough when you don't have that foot traffic," Fulmer said. "People are seeing that the road is closed and taking that all into consideration when making their travel plans and not wanting to come out when that is such a key focus of why they're here, to begin with."
So, Meg Lawhorn with Sugar Lush Sweets came up with a way to draw people into the borough. This Sunday will be the first cookie swap held at Mystic Mug.
"You bring your own special recipe of cookies. Everyone else does the same thing, and you just swap it. This is for the professional bakers, hobby bakers, or that old recipe from grandma with a little twist that you like," Lawhorn said.
Organizers say this event is all about community and helping the businesses that are here.
"I love this community, even though I am new to it. Its small-but-mighty feel, where they are small but they are really passionate about their businesses here and their restaurants here," Lawhorn said.
"We love doing those events because it does draw people into town and bring people here, and they're like, 'Oh, my goodness, this place is so cute.' Yeah, it's adorable and we want to remind people that we are still here," Fulmer added.
The cookie swap is a ticketed event. You can find more information HERE.