SF Castro District Businesses Struggle To Rebound From COVID Economic Woes
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Workers in San Francisco's Castro District say it wasn't the hustle and bustle they dreamed of on the day after Christmas. The dreary weather also didn't help drive sales.
Judging by the traffic in Knobs boutique Sunday evening, business was lackluster. The store sells party and event clothing and accessories for the LGBT community.
"It's been slow," said owner Ryan Hill. "Typically, the busiest time of winter is the week between Christmas and New Year's, so I'm hoping that this is just an anomaly - that the trend will pick up a little bit."
Hill said back in 2019, the store brought in about $15,000 during December 20th - 26th during the holiday season, compared to $5,500 during the same time period in 2020. This year, they've nearly doubled that at $9,200, but they're still a ways off from a normal week during the month of December.
It was the same story a few doors down at Marcello's Pizza on Castro Street.
"Very, very slow, much slower than what it was prior to the pandemic for sure," said manager at Marcello's Pizza Alex Avila.
Avila said the business has been here for 40 years.
"I'm not going to say an actual number but I will say we're losing thousands of dollars weekly," he said. "But I'm just happy to say that my business is still here or my boss' business is still here."
Foot traffic was very light to moderate on the main street Sunday evening.
In Union Square, there were noticeably more cars and people taking in the holiday sights. Others made returns and looked for after-Christmas deals.
"I just got the Williams Sonoma peppermint bark because this was on sale... and you know that little metal box is always so cute to put crackers and cookies in so anyway, we're very lucky to live here," said Maria Morrison of San Francisco.