SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Biba Restaurant, Simpleton Café, and Pizza Rock all businesses that have closed, either permanently or temporarily, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And come August, Andy’s Candy two locations in downtown Sacramento will join the list.
Loyal customer Mark Koenigsberg said he was disheartened to hear the news via social media that his favorite candy store plans to close. He paid a visit Wednesday to load up on sweet treats before the doors lock for good.
“I would say I was in here at least once a month," Koenigsberg said. Candy is not usually on my diet, but I knew this was going to be the last time they were going to be open for another few weeks, so I had to seize the moment."
Andy Paul, owner of the Andy’s Candy, said low foot traffic due to the coronavirus is to blame for why he has to close both his stores, on 9th Street and in DOCO.
“We had to let go all of our employees,” Paul said.
Paul still plans to sell merchandise online, but he will now have to look for other work to support himself financially until after the pandemic passes.
“Hopefully once COVID is sort of calm down, we would love to have another physical retail store,” Paul said.
Greater Sacramento Economic Council is advising businesses that if they have the cash on hand to carry themselves they should stay open, but if not, it is better to close up shop and save money until the economy recovers. Barry Broome, President of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, said the influx of storefronts closing has had a direct impact on Sacramento’s economy declining in all sectors.
“If you are a small business and you are connected to DOCO and Golden 1 [Center], you are taking a beating because there is no one else out there buying your product and there’s nothing you can do about it because you’re the bi-product of the pandemic,” Broome said. “Affect on banking, the affect on development, will also affect credit capital and other development needs, like affordable housing."
Five years after there is a vaccine is how long Broome says it will take for Sacramento’s economy to be back to what it was pre-pandemic.
“The silver lining is 2021 is going to be the best time to start a company and so you will see new companies new stores new retail new restaurants but some of the staples may not come back,” Broome said.
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