Small businesses in downtown San Francisco hit hard by worker exodus
SAN FRANCISCO - With the return to the office not being as immediate as many might've hoped, downtown San Francisco businesses have been struggling.
Leonid Plotkin has worked as a barber in San Francisco's Financial District for 33 years. But the last few haven't been easy.
"I'm still pretty convinced that things will get much, much better," he said.
KPIX 5 met him about a year ago as he tried to figure out how to stay afloat until pandemic-related hybrid work faded away, and he'd get his typical Monday-Friday client base back. However, that hasn't really happened.
"Business is very strange," he said. "Very up and down."
Hybrid work seems to be here to stay, which means fewer people are in downtown San Francisco on a daily basis.
According to the latest data from an ongoing Bay Area Council survey of more than 100 employers, 56% of employers say they're operating at their new normal, and only 17% say they have employees in the office five days a week.
Caitlin Northrop works a hybrid schedule at her San Francisco job.
"I did not think it would be permanent, but I'm kind of digging it," she said.
It works well for her. However, she says she knows the trend may cause challenges for businesses that historically have relied upon the office crowds.
"I'm sure it's had a large effect on their profits," she said.
Plotkin says a sense of consistency will help him adapt.
"It seems like people are free to choose when to come and when to stay at home, and all that inconsistency makes it very difficult to make my schedule," he said.
For the restaurants in the Financial District, he says the inconsistency is, "a huge financial burden."
"There are very few restaurants that can withstand people coming just a few days a week, buying lunch just a few days a week," he said.
Plotkin still thinks he can make it work with people going into offices 2-3 days a week, but says an extra day a week would really help him and other business owners out.
"If hybrid work means people would come to work 4 days a week, that gradually will spread out during the week, it definitely could work," he said.
The barber is staying optimistic, and will take some progress over none, as he adapts to his new way of doing business.
"Things are getting better, it's just happening very slowly," he said. "We're moving like two steps forward one step back."
