It’s a big debate: to close or not to close 25 rest areas in Virginia.
Connie Browning owns Dixie Caverns in Salem, and she is not afraid to voice her opinion when it comes to closing Virginia’s rest areas.
"I think it's a terrible idea," Browning said.
Take a trip inside Dixie Caverns, and you'll see Browning has a lot to show off, but she says many people wouldn't know about her business if it weren't for rest areas.
That's because rest areas provide local tourist attractions with brochure holders where they can advertise.
She's not the only one who thinks closing rest stops could be bad for business.
Jenny Coe manages a gas station near the Ironto rest area.
"It would be bad for us,” Coe said. “It would knock some of our business off."
She says truck drivers normally use the rest stop to sleep then visit her station before hitting the road.
"They're usually either buying fuel, coming in and getting coffee or something out of the store," she said.
The man who owns Riverside Quickette, which is off the Dixie Caverns exit, says closing rest stops would be a good thing for him, because it would force more people to stop at his station.
Browning says more people may get off the exit, but she doesn't think it would translate into more business for her.
"I think when people get off at a gas station, that's where they're going to go is a gas station. I'm not sure that's going to help us," she said.
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