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SURFSIDE, Fla – The Café Vert, a kosher restaurant on quintessentially bustling Harding Avenue, was quiet during what would normally have been a peak hour for lunch on Wednesday.
Michael Labi, who runs the family-owned restaurant, noted how slow business has gotten in recent weeks since Champlain Towers South collapsed a mile and a half away.
“I’m not going to complain about business when people have lost their lives, their parents and family members, but it has been very slow,” he said, adding that he knew many repeat customers. who lived in New York and Canada and owned homes in the area did not return to Surfside during this time. “Even during COVID, we had business, but not like this. “
Business owners along Harding Avenue said the nearby condominium collapse took an emotional toll on them as many lost friends and repeat customers. Some also noted that it also created an economic ripple effect.
As many rushed to provide support and assistance to first responders, victims and other members of their community, they also noticed that the collapse of the building resulted in a heavy downturn in business. This is akin to the economic fallout from the pandemic, as customers struggle to get to the area.
“The situation is very bad for us,” said Samuel Aroveno, who owns and operates Rolling-Pin Kosher Pareve bakery. “In the past year we’ve seen maybe 15 businesses on the streets close here. Hope we don’t see this again now.
Unintended consequences
After the building collapsed, authorities had to lock down a large perimeter to make sure people did not get too close to the site. They also needed plenty of space to store emergency vehicles and construction equipment for the digging that continues there.
“You have to maintain this perimeter for security reasons, but we realize it’s a double-edged sword,” said Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, an information officer with the Miami-Dade Police Department. “You hurt people who are not directly involved in this. We understand this and hope to minimize the pain.
The closures have further slowed traffic in the area located on a narrow strip of land connected to the Florida coast by a series of bridges and small islands, making it difficult for customers, residents and business owners to easily reach downtown Surfside.
“It was impossible,” said Emily Wands, owner of the LAHH salon on Harding Avenue. “Customers cancel, turn around and say, ‘I’m not coming. “”
The downturn comes after one of the most economically devastating times for small businesses in the country’s history. The coronavirus pandemic has brought many local shops and restaurants to their knees or forced entrepreneurs to take out long-term loans to keep themselves afloat.
Yet, many companies worked together in the aftermath to provide meals to first responders and help those affected by the building collapse.
“It’s a very small community,” said Wands, who helped organize food and clothing drives. “Everyone knows someone who was in this tower. Maybe not directly, but your best friend knows this person or your husband’s family knows this person. It was very moving. We have lost someone who has been my client for five years. It is devastating.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he was grateful for the efforts of downtown businesses, especially as they have helped the community while taking an economic hit.
“In addition to being completely shut down, they have done everything possible to support the rescue efforts,” he said. “So not only did they have no business, but they were spending funds, time and energy to support the effort. There are many brave and wonderful people in our business district.
Another economic disaster
Relief for the business district, however, does not come quickly. The summer months are a low season for the Miami Beach area, so economic activity was already at an all-time low for stores here. But the collapse of the building and street closures made the bustling little business district even quieter.
In response, the Small Business Administration and the Florida Department of Economic Activity have been on the ground to help. SBA advisers set up a table inside Geneva Tailor, a storefront on Harding Avenue, in the center of the city’s business district. Co-owner Ilker Cirkin said the company took out an SBA loan to help it get through the current economic crisis.
“We are trying, you know, we are doing our best, but it has been very difficult, so we are waiting to hear about it,” he said, pointing to the two SBA employees working at a table near his window.
Dane Eagle, secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said his state agency arrived at the scene almost immediately after the building fell, bringing two mobile units to the small seaside community and offering small emergency loans without interest. So far, only 11 companies have applied for the Florida Emergency Bridge Loan.
Governor Ron DeSantis and Eagle have also encouraged companies to complete a survey to make sure the state knows the community’s needs, and so far 50 companies have done so.
Eagle said he had heard from companies – his team has helped around 100 companies and individuals so far on the scene – who have had to lay off staff, and how journeys of a few minutes have extended to a hour or more, keeping customers a way.
“We hope it will be in the short term, but it will be for the foreseeable future,” he said. “The need is going to be there and will continue with the efforts to reclaim the building. Therefore, there will be a displacement of normal tourism, of normal residents walking the streets.”
The SBA, on the other hand, offers low-interest loans to businesses, as well as tenants and landlords in the area. Small businesses are offered loans of up to $ 2 million at an interest rate of 2.88%.
While the SBA reports that on Thursday it received 57 inquiries from Miami companies related to the condominium collapse, some owners have said they are not interested in taking on more debt.
“We just got up from Covid and it kind of slammed us back,” Wands said. “What the SBA is offering is great, but we’re still paying back the loans we got for the pandemic. We want grants, and they don’t.
Still, the SBA has surveyed the area to make sure local businesses are in the know.
“The SBA came here and offered a loan, and that’s great, but we don’t want another loan,” Aroveno said. “We’d almost better close because it’s so bad, but we want to be there to support the families and everyone downtown.”
Eagle said his agency was working with the Miami Beacon Council, a public-private partnership aimed at growing the Miami-Dade County economy, to find funds for grants.
“I think this is where the private sector needs to come in, which is why we approached the Miami Beacon Council,” he said. “They are trying to find ways to help those who are unable to take out a new loan and find them a grant that can help close that gap.”
Burkett said he is also working with local private groups to develop grants and potential funding for affected companies, which he plans to roll out soon.
“My # 1 priority is getting everyone out of the rubble and supporting families,” he said, “but I want to make sure that our businesses and the people behind them who have stepped up are thanked and know that we are grateful for everything they have done.
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