With the shock waves of the Gulf oil spill still rippling through the country months after the April 20th disaster, businesses, families, and individuals everywhere are concerned with one question, “How will it affect us?” We’ll only be able to fully answer this question with the hindsight of several years, potentially decades, but experts are beginning to weigh in with their opinions even now.

Luckily for residents and businesses in southern Georgia, they’re separated from the coast by the Florida panhandle. Unfortunately, many companies rely on that area for business and supplies, while many families and individuals spend vacation time in properties on the coast that they rent or own. For most, the fallout of the oil spill will be totally negative, though maybe not as bad as some envisioned days after the leak continued to spew crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Businesses that have ties to the panhandle and other Gulf Coast areas will be particularly hard hit. Right now, the businesses that seem most likely to feel the effects of the spill are restaurants and businesses in the finance sector.

What do food and finances have in common? Not much, actually. These are just the southern Georgia businesses that have serious interests in what happens in the Gulf.

According to many area restaurant owners, business has been unpredictable. Some have seen surges as customers drop by to eat fresh seafood they aren’t sure they’ll be able to find in the coming months. Others avoid seafood altogether, wary that the disaster has somehow affected what they’re eating.

Restaurants are also unsure what the spill is going to do to their supplies. Major chains like Red Lobster aren’t having trouble because they already use seafood sources from around the world. Many smaller, family owned restaurants in the Albany area, though, pride themselves on seafood that’s close to the source – the Gulf of Mexico.

Although prices haven’t skyrocketed and supplies haven’t waned yet, many restaurant owners and managers are expecting to see such changes in the near future. While it isn’t likely that the Gulf seafood supply will drain entirely, many restaurants are anticipating menu changes – in choices and prices both –  that will allow them to work with what is available and affordable.

The financial sector in Georgia is already feeling the impact of the April disaster, as well. Many major investment firms in the area are heavily tied up in Gulf Coast property investments. With commercial and residential buyers pulling out until tar balls stop washing up every day, these businesses have a lot to lose.

Changes in the real estate market on the Gulf Coast are affecting private owners, as well. Many families who rent out their coastal properties during the tourist season are having trouble getting any renters at all. For those families who depend on this income to get through the tourist-free winter, this could bring financial ruin.

Even property owners who aren’t renting their Gulf Coast homes, though, are up in arms about the spill. One class action lawsuit filed in the Northern Georgia U.S. District Court is led by couples who are suing BP for loss of income, property devaluation, and loss of enjoyment, according to one Fox News Report. These couples have significant investments in property for profit and pleasure, and this summer the tarred beaches will prevent them from getting either!

Every coin has a flip side, though. Some Southern Georgia businesses and individuals may actually benefit from the oil spill. Rental agencies in the remote areas of Georgia have been seeing booms as many scared and frustrated vacationers opt for Georgia rentals over their already contracted rentals on the Gulf Coast.