Ben Cline Revisits His Small Town Roots in Campaign Stops at Front Royal Small Businesses

Royal Examiner caught up with Virginia’s incumbent U.S. 6th Congressional District Representative Ben Cline shortly after noon, Wednesday, October 9th, where he was making, not only a campaign stop for re-election against challenger Ken Mitchell, but a lunch stop with Campaign Manager Tyler Adams before heading out to his next Valley campaign destination.

Shortly after noon, Main Street Mill owner Alice Barnhart and staff welcomed Cline and Adams at their seventh stop at a locally owned small business destination in Front Royal. And with the lunch hour upon them we deferred to waitress Cindy Martin and Barnhart to present the Mill menu and daily Lunch Special to the hungry-looking political duo. We will note that Cline went with the Smash Burger Special with fries, while Adams went Chicken & Avocado Sandwich, also with fries.

Congressman Ben Cline’s final of seven downtown Front Royal small business stops included lunch served at the Main Street Mill. Below, first owner Alice Barnhart greeted Cline, facing camera, and campaign manager Tyler Adams, then waitress Cindy Martin presented the Daily Special to accompany the menus. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

We then took advantage of the break to allow the kitchen time to prepare the lunch order to ask Cline about his visit to the Shenandoah Valley and downtown Front Royal. Earlier stops in Cline’s visit with local small businesses here beginning at 9:30 a.m. included: Downtown Blends, 201 E. Main Street; DL Campus Coffee, 131 E. Main St.; Stokes General Store, 533 E. Main St.; Pomeroy’s Small Engine Repair, 525 E. Main St.; Marlow Motors, 707 N. Commerce Ave.; Rural King, 465 South St.; leading up to our just past noon lunch-hour candidate catch-up (with ketchup on the fries) at the Main Street Mill at 500 E. Main Street.

As they waited for that lunch order to arrive at their booth under the beautiful first-floor mural of the late Patricia Windrow we were invited to pull up a chair for a chat with the Congressman on the stump.

I guess we can let that reporter sit with us, at least until the food comes, Cline may have been thinking if he was aware of this reporter’s food vulture reputation.

With Election Day 2024 now less than a month away, we asked Cline about the message he brought to the Valley and Front Royal this day.

“We’ve had a great time on Main Street and over at the car dealership just meeting with folks and talking about the issues that are important to small businesses. A lot of folks are concerned about inflation and the cost of living, and small businesses are getting hit two ways. They got hit with the cost of labor, you know when the wages are rising so it costs more to hire employees. But it also costs more to buy the goods that they’re needing to make their businesses run,” Cline began, adding, “So, whether it’s a small-engine repair shop or the dry goods store or a Smoothy place, you name it, everybody’s facing challenges. So, getting to hear from folks helps me as I go back to fight for folks in Washington each and every day.”

We then asked Cline if this lunch stop marked nearing the end of his visit to Front Royal. “We’re settling in for lunch and I’ll eat as long as I can before my team says it’s time for me to move on to the next spot. And then I’ll just pack it up and use it as a late night snack. But the Smash Burger sounds good, so I might eat the whole thing while I’m here,” Cline forecast for his lunch special order.

Lunches arrived, we left Cline and Adams alone to enjoy their campaign pit stop fueling up for the rest of the day’s Valley campaign stops.

Cline then volunteered that visits to smaller town communities like Front Royal were special to him. “Front Royal is a special community, and it’s that community spirit that supports small businesses and keeps areas like this thriving. I come from a small town, I grew up in Lexington at the other end of the Shenandoah Valley. And that sense of community is strong there, as well. And it instilled in me the need to support our small businesses and buy local as often as we can.”