Post-Occupy, Oakland merchants and city leaders meet challenge of rebuilding business activity ---
Merchants in downtown Oakland are working to regain the business they had prior to the Occupy protests. Many merchants suffered big declines in sales that prompted the city’s business leaders to pressure city officials to remove the Occupy Oakland encampment.
Merchants said customers were scared to visit downtown during the protests, while business leaders also saw the larger impact on the city´s reputation among employers and investors.
Mayor Jean Quan admitted that the Occupy movement negatively impacted jobs, citing a loss of 300 to 400 jobs due to business owners not renewing leases on downtown properties or deciding not to commit to new leases. Numerous downtown retailers said the Occupy protests cut their sales by as much as fifty percent.
"People didn't want to come downtown," said Nohemi Perez, owner of Juice Joint Eatery, located near Frank H. Ogawa Plaza where the Occupy encampment was located.
“Business went down about 20 per cent, plus no orders for takeout nor catering orders,” says Perez. “We closed for two days, plus the days that we opened but we were empty because the police surrounded the area for security reasons.”
“For a small business, to have 20 per cent business decrease is a lot - we cannot take it.”
“It’s now time to rebuild,” says Joseph Haraburda, president and CEO of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Looking at the departure of the Occupy camp, Haraburda says, “This was a temporary interruption that caused some businesses to lose volume and it’s up to us to support those businesses and bring the economy back.”
He adds that local merchants are relieved that the protests are over and pleased by the work done by the city police and city administrators.
A statement from Mayor Quan’s office urges residents to support downtown businesses.
“We encourage the community to make a special effort to support our downtown and Chinatown businesses that have been greatly impacted by the last few weeks of the encampment.”
The statement stresses the importance of local job creation along with the city’s priority to reduce crime.
“Equally important is bringing businesses and jobs to Oakland. I will continue to meet and work with companies who are considering locating here to stimulate jobs and bring revenue to our city.”
As things return to business as usual, merchants are focused on moving forward. Typifying the optimism and work ethic of entrepreneurs, business owner Perez says, “Now it’s time to work hard to get back to where we were.”