There’s good news for businesses in downtown Santa Cruz. After two and a half years of recession— National Bureau of Economic Research claims that the downward trended started in December 2007– things are finally looking up. Downtown has suffered significantly in that time not only from the recession but also because of a negative image as a center for gang members and the homeless.
“People are finding ways to be innovative and retool,” says Chip, the one-named Executive Director of the Downtown Association. While twelve businesses have shut down over the past year, half of them have reopened under a new name, and these were joined by a dozen new businesses, showing net growth.
The businesses themselves are growing too as they cut costs to customers. ” Shoppers are getting great deals,” says Lara Marotta of the consignment store Twist. She sold her previous store, Galla Cabana, and adopted a new business model in order to win a new breed of customers who are more wary about how they spend.
While the Chamber of Commerce says that the businesses to suffer most are auto dealerships and others like them that rely on credit, innovative small businesses that cater to people making smaller sales can grow, even under current economic conditions. As Patty Zoccoli of Zoccoli’s Deli points out, “People can still afford to buy a sandwich.”
Read More at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
