DENVER — When Denver7's Micah Smith went to Denver's Westwood neighborhood earlier this month to hear from community members, she heard about the strain being felt by small businesses there.
“Businesses are definitely struggling," Jose Esparza, executive director of BuCu West, told Denver7 earlier this month. "I think [that's], in part, because of the national politics and I think there's just a lot of volatility, and people are scared to spend money."
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Micah returned to Westwood this week to hear from more business owners, who say the neighborhood is seeing a big revenue drop as residents face displacement, economic, and immigration issues.
'They don't have a huge balance sheet'
Esparza said Westwood’s business community is made up of mostly small business owners.
“They don't have a huge balance sheet. They are really small business owners, so not a lot of profits to work with and when we're hearing that revenues are down, and you know, for some down 50%, you could see why it's really affecting where they see hope in the future,” Esparza told us last week.
One business that is currently experiencing a decrease in revenue is La Vecindad de la Chilanga.
Owner Yvonne Bringas told us, in Spanish, the last few months have been difficult.
“We have been impacted because the economy is slowing down, but also the people don't feel comfortable with the new administration,” Bringas said.
Bringas said fears surrounding immigration enforcement have led to less customers coming to her restaurant. She said another challenge is increased competition from food trucks.
“There’s a rivalry with street vendors and they don’t pay taxes,” Bringas said.
Bringas’ restaurant currently has two locations, and she hopes more customers will soon start coming into both.
'I was just barely squeaking by'
For Thomas Padilla, owner of One Stop Bike Shop, business was good, but a new landlord led to him closing down his shop on Morrison Road which had been there for 31 years.
“Somebody else bought the building, so they could do whatever they want with it," he said. "That's their place, but it was just the rent was too high for me. They were going to charge a higher rent, and it was more than almost triple (what it was) by the time I paid the maintenance fees and all that stuff.
"So, there's just no way I could do it. I was just barely squeaking by."
Westwood has been identified by Denver’s Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization Division, or NEST, as a community most at risk of displacement due to rapid changes.
NEST considers 10 factors to make this designation, including a business indicator for communities with businesses that have annual gross sales of under $500,000 a year.
“I've spent a lot of time looking for buildings and storefronts, and all I can find is expensive stuff. You know, there's nothing really, there's a couple things in my budget, but they're just too small,” Padilla said. “I don't know what the future holds, but if somebody buys a lot of my inventory, then I can start a smaller place. That's what I'm hoping for.”
Padilla and Bringas both said despite the challenges of owning a business in Westwood, it’s a good neighborhood and they hope to stay open there.
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