Wu has boosted Boston neighborhoods. But downtown still struggles with post-COVID blues.

Boston Globe

2 days ago

The impact of
Wu's strategy can be felt on
last year far surpassed 2019 levels, according to credit-card data tracked by the Boston Planning & Development Agency. To many small business owners in these thriving districts, City Hall's influence made a crucial difference during the pandemic and the rocky years that followed.
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'The city of Boston has provided me, provided our restaurant, with the help to stay open,' said Fernando Rosas, owner of Bono, a Latin American restaurant and caterer in East Boston. 'Without that help, I don't think we would be open.'
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In January, city officials held a ribbon cutting at Jadu, a new cafe in Jamaica Plain that received a city storefront grant and was one of the first businesses to receive one of the new 225 liquor licenses the state created for Boston.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
But that same BPDA research also highlights the downsides of Wu's approach.
small businesses that remain say they're struggling to survive.
'We are fighting for customers,' said Julie King, co-owner of Villa Mexico Cafe on
Of course, much of this stark reversal of fortune is spurred by economic forces beyond any big city mayor's control. The post-COVID shift toward hybrid work has
buildings near King's restaurant — have decamped from downtown entirely.
That has created an
emptier central business district. While foot traffic has improved since 2020,
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And it's not just downtown retailers that feel the impact. High vacancy rates are
because commercial property tax, much of it from downtown, fuels a lion's share of the city's $4.8 billion budget.
Indeed, the city's third ward, a slice of downtown that includes the Financial District, has a taxable real estate value of $43.7 billion, according to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, while properties in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale together are valued at $6.6 billion.
So when it comes to the city's budget, even small declines downtown can have big implications.
Business leaders have criticized Wu for not using her bully pulpit — as some other big-city mayors have — to prod employers to bring workers back to the office. And even as
the
Fernando Rosas is the owner of Bono Restaurant and Catering in East Boston.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
Still, Wu notes,
major companies have continued to
come to
Boston, such as
'You can't have one without the other, especially today when office buildings don't exist on their own as magnets for activity,' Wu added. 'When we make every neighborhood a destination, when we make every neighborhood exciting and safe and activated, that also means that residents, people, employees are staying in Boston."
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Mayoral challenger Josh Kraft hasn't released a plan for small business or for downtown, but has said he wants to make Boston more business-friendly in general and that
Boston is hardly alone in the struggle to revive its downtown, cities from Washington to San Francisco are wrestling with similar trends. And shops and restaurants outside commercial cores of cities are flourishing
everywhere, observed Jesse Baerkahn, president of Graffito SP, a Boston real estate advisory firm.
'People are shopping and dining less near where they work than where they live,' he said. 'From a community economic development to retail real estate ... there's really just one thing you need — which is human beings.'
Yet at the same time Wu is trying to boost small businesses in residential neighborhoods, she is also trying to spur more people to live downtown.
The city closed down Summer Street downtown for a "Boston Blooms" event to celebrate spring and a lull in the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2022.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
In 2023, the city began offering
'It's just a question of how realistic is it to bring that idea to scale. Is there enough demand?' said Poftak. 'Can you do it quickly enough to make a difference?'
Wu has also stepped up events that aim to to bring people downtown, from
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Those have helped boost foot traffic at Boston Public Market, which houses about 30 vendors on Congress Street near City Hall Plaza. The market draws about 1.7 million visitors a year, said Boston Public Market CEO Cheryl Cronin, but that's still down 25 percent from before the pandemic.
'This is what everyone downtown needs to bear in mind,' Cronin said. 'You need to work harder to get the same people here.'
The nonprofit market has weathered the downturn, Cronin said, thanks largely to state funding and philanthropy. But downtown business owners don't have that kind of safety net.
General manager Elias Khoury at Pita Thyme in downtown Boston.
David L Ryan/ Globe Staff
Pita Thyme,
Business has improved slightly year over year, Khoury said, but is still down 40 percent compared to before the pandemic. He doesn't think Wu can do much to convince more workers to return to office, but she
could
make the area safer and cleaner.
Khoury points to how a nearby restaurant that shuttered months ago was broken into recently, and had to be boarded up. When he gets in at 6 a.m. to prep food, he often finds homeless people sleeping in stoops and stairwells.
'Let's say I own a company and I want to move into Boston, and I come and see that in the morning. It's just makes you think twice,' said Khoury.
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A homeless person slept in the doorway at the shuttered 2Twenty2 bar on the corner of Liberty Square and Water Street.
David L Ryan/ Globe Staff
Yet in business districts that ring downtown,
the optimism is palpable, despite broader headwinds such as inflation and tariffs.
At Latino Beauty Salon in Egleston Square, owner Rosana Rivera said she's busier than ever. Her client base has doubled since she got a
Rivera bought new furniture and invested in other upgrades that she believes attracted new customers. Noting that before the mayor got into politics, Wu had opened her own tea shop, Rivera said, 'She knows what it's like to have a business.'
In Jamaica Plain, restaurants such as Tres Gatos, Casa Verde, and The Haven have expanded and seen their businesses grow since the pandemic. Meanwhile, new spots are opening, like coffee and wine bar
Even
Jason Waddleton, owner of the Scottish pub The Haven, plans to offer a gameday shuttle to the stadium in Franklin Park, just 1 mile away.
'I anticipate us being a hub for supporters,' said Waddleton. 'I want to get that same vibe pre-game that you see in European cities.'
And up in East Boston, Rosas is hopeful, too. He first
Business has been good, Rosas said, though on days there are immigration raids customers stay home.
More than anything, he's bullish about the future of East Boston.
'I imagine East Boston in 10 years it's going to become the new, probably Back Bay,' said Rosas. 'You're closer to the city, you have a train. You still can find the same amenities in a condo here that you probably have in the Back Bay at a much lower price.'
People played soccer at LoPresti Park in East Boston.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at