Nikolia Apostolou

Special for USA TODAY

MYTILINI, Greece — As a main European gateway for migrants flooding in from Turkey, the Aegean island of Lesbos, long known for its olive oil and ouzo, has found a way to turn a potential crisis into a profitable cash flow.

After all, those refugees need food, housing, clothing and other necessities, which has been good for local business.

But now that Turkey and the European Union have struck a deal to send most migrants back to Turkey starting Monday, shop owners fret they’ll soon lose the business they've counted on to make up for all the tourists who have shunned the island since the migrants showed up.

EU-Turkey reach deal over migrant crisis

"Business is (already) down now as the Moria camp has turned into a detention camp," and vendors can only enter on foot, complained food truck owner Stratis Kerimis, who sells the refugees falafel, sandwiches and soft drinks. "When you own a business, you have to be patient and wait to see if things will turn around."

Last year, 2,000 to 6,000 people were crossing daily from Turkey to Lesbos on inflatable boats. Now, new arrivals have fallen to just 300 a day.

Since the winter of 2015, this island, which is just a one-hour ferry ride from Turkey, has catered to migrants to make up for the loss of business from Greeks who can't afford to visit because of the country's financial crisis or foreign tourists who don't want to come to a place they see as overrun with refugees.

A dozen food trucks have sprung up to feed migrants, hotels and apartments are filled with new arrivals, along with humanitarian aid workers who have come to assist them, and the local government has created new jobs to process them.

“We opened our store a few years ago to serve Greeks that like fishing,” said Ksanthi Ksourgia, who owns a fishing gear shop near the island’s port of Mytilini. “But due to the financial crisis, few Greeks continued on with their hobbies. So we had to transform the business into one serving the refugees and immigrants. We now have added sweaters, shoes and baby clothes.”

Some Greeks have exploited the migrants by gouging them for bottled water, taxi rides and mobile-phone charging. In March, police arrested three Greeks for illegally selling SIM cards for mobile phones.

And the crush of migrants has caused problems for the locals. They have left garbage everywhere, turned an olive grove into a camping site and cut olive branches for firewood, and likely stole livestock such as chickens from residents.

Tourism also has taken a big hit. “In 2015, traffic was down by 80% because the refugee crisis is a big problem for our island,” said Antonis Pikoulos, a travel agent. This year looks no better, as tourist hotels report a drop in summer bookings and charter flights, he said.

“Tourism is a sensitive issue. Summer will be a huge drama," Pikoulos said. "There's no tourism anymore. And to get back on our feet we'll need many years.”

Locals here hope the migrants will take up the slack, at least until they stop coming. Greek ships, trains, and buses are packed as they head northbound with migrants trying to reach Western Europe. Local ferry companies are thriving as they carry refugees to the mainland, often with the help of government subsidies. Ferry schedules are posted in Arabic and Farsi as well as Greek and English.

“All ferries that leave the island are full now,” Pikoulos said.

This past winter was the first time that Roula Kyparissi, 67, and her husband Michalis, 65, kept their family-run Hotel Gorgona open despite a poor summer season. “The (German and Scandinavian) tourists were leaving early,” Roula said. “They said the beach was dirty, and they didn't like seeing the refugee drama. Maybe now that these tourists go back to their countries and meet the refugees there, they'll change their mind.”

The Kyparissis, who spent 30 years working in factories in Germany, know what it means to be migrants. When they headed to Western Europe, they had prearranged jobs and an apartment. They wonder how these refugees will fare.

Back at the port of Mytilini, shopkeeper Ksourgia arranged clothes on the shelves. “We're happy with our business, but a different solution has to be found for these people,” she said, adding that she’s become Facebook friends with refugees she's met and has learned some Arabic. “They still have a long way to go. It's cold, and they're carrying babies with them. It's such a shame.”