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Business owners neighboring Amazon鈥檚 Seattle headquarters were beaming on Monday following a return to the office for thousands of the tech giant鈥檚 employees.

Amazon鈥檚 in-office policy now requires workers to be physically present five days a week for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

While workers鈥� rights advocates and some inside the company fought back against the return to the office, others — like those who stand to make a profit — are celebrating the resurgence of foot traffic.

Expect traffic: Amazon employees in Washington begin return to office full time

Caf茅 workers, food truck owners and more, all surrounding the corporate offices in South Lake Union, told 成人X站 Newsradio they鈥檇 noticed a higher number of people walking the sidewalks than any Monday in recent memory.

And not just on foot, the roads appear to be taking a hit, too. That鈥檚 a price business owners like Edgar Mendoza are willing to pay if it means his taco stand Barriga Llena brings in more hungry workers on break.

鈥淓xtra income for everyone, not just me,鈥� he said through a smile.

He admitted his commute from Burien was an extra 20 minutes, which he believes, is due to the sheer number of Amazon鈥檚 employees headed back to the office. Amazon employs about 50,000 people in the Seattle area and about 10,000 more across the lake in Bellevue.

鈥淭he off-ramp off of (Mercer Way) was much, much busier this morning, but we鈥檙e definitely seeing a lot more people down here before we even open up,鈥� said Chris McClendon, who works in a Venezuelan food truck.

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Flanked by three more of his competitors鈥� trucks, he prepared the Paparepas truck for what he anticipated would be a lively Monday.

鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely looking forward to seeing more people down here on Mondays and Fridays,鈥� he said, adding that he feels a particular gratitude for Amazon employees who came downtown when they didn鈥檛 have to and supported the vendors anyway.

But not everyone is happy. Some Amazon workers have protested being forced back to the office, arguing their productivity was just as high, if not higher, whilst working from home.

The company has moved forward with its policy despite the criticisms, with CEO Andy Jassy to 鈥渄isagree and commit鈥� or that their jobs were 鈥減robably not going to work out.鈥�

It鈥檚 not clear how many, if any, Amazon employees have been fired for a refusal to return to the office.

Sam Campbell is a reporter, editor and anchor at 成人X站 Newsradio. You can read more of Sam鈥檚 stories聽here. Follow Sam on聽, or聽email him here.