Part of me wonders if we are watching the demise of Ferguson at the hands of a crowd who demands justice but only wants a pound of white flesh. If things don’t get back to normal soon, businesses may end up closing down and moving to more stable areas, leaving the people of Ferguson jobless and on the way to ruin.
Now that may seem a little dramatic, but how long can business put up with daily and weekly loses because people are too afraid to come out and do business with them?
CBS ST. LOUIS – Businesses in Ferguson say they are just “going to wait and see” how to sustain what has been a tumultuous few months of riots and dramatically reduced revenue, with some local store owners saying customers are “too scared” to bring their business to the area.
Local stores and businesses throughout Ferguson expressed feelings of frustration and uncertainty as many have boarded-up windows, increased security measures and lost thousands of dollars in revenue amid protests stemming from the Aug. 9 police shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Many businesses said they will just have to wait and see what happens ahead of an expected November ruling on whether or not to indict Officer Darren Wilson.
“We’ve lost $200 to $300 in business nightly, people are afraid to pick up in the night, after dark,” said Tammy Cao of the Hunan Chop Suey Chinese Restaurant. “People are too scared at night…I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
She said the store has “paid $1,500 out-of-pocket for window damages” caused by rioters, because the $5,000 insurance deductible “did not add up.”
“I know customers who have left the area…I just want everything to go back to normal and everyone can do business again.”
A return to normalcy is a sentiment echoed by many Ferguson businesses.
Zisser Tire & Auto said the rioters “knocked out 90 percent of our windows, which are still boarded up.”
“We’ve just been trying to go to work, business as usual — nobody wants to take the boards down until we see what happens. It’s more of the not knowing what’s going to happen next.”