With Downtown Foot Traffic Down 80%, Loop Storefronts Struggle To Stay Open
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago's once bustling Loop is akin to a ghost town amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Foot traffic downtown has dropped about 80% compared to this time last year.
CBS 2 Morning Insider Tim McNicholas reports shops are still paying thousands of dollars per month in rent, but they're not making many sales.
Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique has a dream location at 100 N. Wabash Ave., in the heart of the Loop, but lately that location isn't worth the rent for owner Teresa Ging.
"This morning, I've had zero customers, and its 10 a.m. now," Ging said.
On the same block, CBS 2 counted four out of seven storefronts shut down due to coronavirus. That's not even counting the shops leasing space on the upper floors of those buildings.
"I have nine, ten people on payroll, and unfortunately I had to lay off every one of them. So in order to survive as a business, I'm actually working by myself," Ging said.
With her neighbors gone, Ging said business is down about 80%.
Foot traffic in the Loop also is down 80%.
"It makes me feel horrible," said Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Chicago Loop Alliance.
They work with retail data and intelligence company Springboard to monitor pedestrian counters downtown, but lately there's not much to count.
"This may be a real death blow to some of the small retailers. Well-capitalized businesses with multiple locations may have a little bit more staying power," Edwards said.
CBS 2 counted at least nine shuttered businesses out of the 11 storefronts on the first block of South State Street.
Edwards said businesses will be cautious and gradual with their re-openings, whenever that happens. He said some might even take customer's temperatures once they're open for business again.
"The way they do business is going to have to change. That may be fewer seats in a restaurant. That may be more outdoor dining," he said.
Sugar Bliss has a second location at the Palmer House Hilton, but that's shut down altogether. Ging plans to re-open that spot when it's safe to do so.
"It's such a dense population, and now it's completely gone," Ging said.
At her Wabash store, she's now planning to bring some of her staff back. She just learned on Wednesday she was lucky enough to earn a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Ging said that loan amounts to about 2.5 months of payroll. She said it will help her with rent, and to bring back at least a couple employees.
