COVID-19 Impact Is Devastating to Downtown Kalamazoo Businesses

It's more important now than ever before to buy local as almost half of downtown Kalamazoo businesses lost 75% of their revenue due to Coronavirus.

This unprecedented pandemic has affected all of us emotionally and financially. Kalamazoo Downtown Partnership has just released the figures on the weight of the economic affect on downtown businesses, and it is colossal.

An online survey of 64 downtown Kalamazoo business in the retail, food and drink and services sector, conducted in early May has three main takeaways:

1. 98% of businesses documented lost revenue
2. 45% of managers reported the decrease in revenue was 75% or more
3. 65% of owners say permanent closure is likely if the crisis continues

If there's any good news, it is that 94% of business owners reported having applied for federal, state, and/or local assistance, with 81% having received some amount of financial help. To help locally, Kalamazoo Downtown Partnership announced the Downtown Kalamazoo Outdoor Experience on July 2, offering businesses creative and flexible opportunities to "use public space for dining, retail sales and services, providing both a unique visitor experience outdoors and additional space to offset capacity restrictions put in place due to COVID-19."

We know the pandemic been a financial disturbance to many families, but we encourage you to support your favorite local businesses while you can.