BOSTON – As Berklee College of Music students were out enjoying the weather Tuesday, they were greeted by empty storefronts along Massachusetts Avenue.
Austin Chen has been running Berkeley Noodles Factory with his family for seven years. He is deeply concerned about these vacant stores, saying they increase the cost of operating small businesses.
“They're closing one by one. So, I don't know, will this mean fewer customers?” Chen asked.
Why are small businesses closing in Boston?
“unfortunately Sales are flat “Costs are going up quite a bit for small businesses, and that's creating a lot of dark stores,” said John Hurst, president of the Massachusetts Retailers Association. inflationinsurance premiums and remote working are taking a toll on these small mom-and-pop shops.
” consumers are exploited, And the operating costs for small and medium-sized businesses are prohibitively high, making profitability a huge issue,” Hurst said.
One popular store that closed a few months ago was Guitar Center. Silas Hayes plays guitar and is in his senior year at Berklee College of Music. “I used to go there a lot, and they always gathered like a string instrument in front of the ensemble. …The closest one is about three miles away,” he said. Ta.
How can small businesses receive support?
Alia Hamanda Forrest, director of business strategy for the City of Boston, said grants are available to help small businesses survive. Businesses can receive up to $200,000 for rent, security deposits and improvements.
“We launched a space grant program using federal funds to fill empty storefronts created by the pandemic,” she said.
Chen knows summer will be even later with fewer students, but he hopes customers will return and foot traffic will increase along Mass Avenue.
“We run on much thinner margins than people realize. Especially now with inflation, it's really eating into us. If you're in Boston or something, and you want to come and get ramen or something,” Please come, it will really help us.”