Sobering Sequestration: For Mad Fox Brewing, It's Eat, Drink and Forget About the Scary (VIDEO)

Bill Madden is concerned about what sequestration could do to his Falls Church business, but he has seen tough times before.

Madden, owner of Mad Fox Brewing Company, launched his business in July 2010 during what he called one of the greatest recessions of this generation. He may lose a few customers to the sequestration hatchet, but he doesn't have any layoffs on tap.

“We’re not considering any of our employees go,” Madden said Tuesday. “We have no intentions of doing that.”

Some 90,000 civilian Department of Defense employees will lose more than $648 million because of furloughs if sequestration kicks in on Friday, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Madden isn't sure how many of his patrons work for the federal government, but he knows a good number of his customers are defense contractors and government employees.

Some Falls Church residents are opting to cut back on personal spending until they see the effects of sequestration. 

The brewpub was sprawling with people dining and drinking Tuesday night. With his hand curled around of Mad Fox’s “Diabolic” brew, one defense contractor, who declined to give his name, said he is fearful of what sequestration means. With every swig of beer and semi-long pause, he said he hadn’t figured out how to prepare for possible furloughs or layoffs. He hasn’t heard any formal word of unpaid time off -- but he's certain it's only a matter of time.

“When the government has to save money after cutbacks and raised taxes, the only thing left to do is furlough people,” he said.

Madden said he will watch to see how sequestration pans out but hopes Congress will reach a deal sometime soon. People in northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. area have been lucky in years past with a bustling job market, he said. But now this. 

“This is something we’re used to,” he said, referring to the recent recession. "There are a lot of federal employees in this area. It’s unfortunate that we’re going through this.”